Organizing your Data: The Data collection phase
Sherry Roland-Washington
Securing
funding for schools has remain a challenge for rural, urban, and private
schools since the turn of the century.
In Illinois and Pennsylvania, the lack of a current state budget has severely
impacted schools’ and state universities’ abilities to impart resources to
learners. Educational leaders in many
schools are faced with the dilemma of seeking an answer to that old adage, “How
am I going to do more with less?” “How
am I going to meet payroll and ensure the distribution of equitable materials for
all students given the constraints of the budget?” Although the questions are rhetorical in
nature, the reality of the situation is authentic.
Public
school funding in the United States comes from federal, state, and local
sources, but because nearly half of those funds come from local property taxes,
the system generates large funding differences between wealthy and impoverished
communities. Such differences exist among states, among school districts within
each state, and even among schools within specific districts. Many Educational Leaders are confronted with
two choices: believe the fabricated story the money is on the way, or empower
the staff to come up creative ways to balance the budget and ensure a rigorous
education for all learners. Given the constraints
of the limited options, many Educators go into survival mode and apply for an
assortment of grants.
Applying
for grants is a feasible option, if you have the right structures in
place. After several years as a Grant
consultant for schools, faith based organizations, and non-profit companies;
the best advice I would give any school district, sports group, or church group
seeking a grant is take the time to establish an honest, transparent strategic
plan aligned to the organizations’ goals, mission and vision statements.
EDUCATIONAL
GRANT TIP #1: ORGANIZE YOUR DATA
Just
as we organize our information in preparation to file taxes, it is vitally
important organizations take time to compile the data in one central
location. Whether you are working with a
consultant or have assigned the duty to a staff in your organization, having
the data in one location will leave more time for the discussion of how to
implement the grant vs. more time searching for data. What data do you need? Glad you asked that question. I strongly recommend you start with the
following:
·
An
aligned strategic plan
·
The
school’s budget
·
Data
of the school’s performance (Academic, Behavioral, Attendance, &
Graduation)
·
The
survey data of the participates (Title 1 parent surveys, etc.)
·
The
climate data of your region (crime rate, median income, unemployment data,
etc.)
·
A
needs statement
·
Identify
the stakeholders
·
A
list of your board members
·
Copies
of your board minutes and agendas
·
Clarify
the long term outcomes you wish to achieve
·
Generate
a list of how you will document or measure
the success of your goals
Grant
consultants call this process, “The pre-collection” period. These are just a few of the documents you
will need. The extensive list of data is always cited in the introduction of
the grant you are applying for, it is important to read this information
carefully. There are “free” websites to
store your collection of documents. Two
of my personal favorites are dropbox https://www.dropbox.com
and livebinders: http://www.livebinders.com/welcome/home.
Having this data readily available to
review will help you decide which grants you should apply for. For example, here is a sample of some
upcoming federal grants from the Federal Government.
Ø Elementary
and Secondary School Counseling Programs
o
Program Description: This program provides funding to LEAs to
establish or expand elementary and secondary school counseling programs, with
special consideration given to applicants that can: Demonstrate the greatest need for counseling
services in the schools to be served; propose the most innovative and promising
approaches; and Show the greatest potential for replication and dissemination.
Ø Project
School Emergency Response to Violence (SERV) Grant Program
o
Program Description: This program funds short-term and long-term
education-related services for local educational agencies (LEAs) and
institutions of higher education (IHEs) to help them recover from a violent or
traumatic event in which the learning environment has been disrupted.
Ø Project
Prevent Grant Program
o
Program Description: This program provides funding to LEAs to
increase their capacity both to identify, assess, and serve students exposed to
pervasive violence, helping to ensure that affected students are offered mental
health services for trauma or anxiety; support conflict resolution programs;
and implement other school–based violence prevention strategies in order to
reduce the likelihood that these students will later commit violent acts.
If
your organization does not have the capacity or time to apply for the above
grants, our company can provide this service for you. We are here to assist
those who desire the help. As always,
please feel free to email me at sherry.washington@govgrantshelp.com with
questions you have about the grant writing process for Education. Explore our new website for Educators and
share your questions and concerns on the discussion board at the grant help
webpage. Next month I will discuss how
to use the data you have collected to create a logic model. The logic model is the secret key to
attaining award winning grants. Until then, continue to put students first; and remember: YOU MATTER.
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