School Excellence Grants
"The Foundation helped us address a very real need to improve attendance and parent involvement at our school." ~ Principal at an inner-city elementary school
Principals are constantly challenged to find ways to improve various aspects of their schools - academic achievement, community support, parental involvement, student attendance and civility in the school environment, etc. In many cases, non-cash incentives and community involvement will provide the needed resources. In other cases, funding outside the normal district funds would be required to make this happen.
School Excellence Grants have reached thousands of students; raising reading scores, improving literacy and media centers, improving student attendance and increasing parent involvement.
School administrators may apply for these matching grants at the beginning of each school year. The grants are for up to $5,000 and are designed to address needs which impact large segments of the school community (a grade-level, curriculum area, school-wide, etc.).
Over the years, the principals and school communities have demonstrated tremendous creativity which has resulted in significant improvements facilitated, in part, through School Excellence Grants.
Case Study Robinson High School Media Center
During a two-year period, the Foundation worked with the New York Life Foundation and Public Education Network (PEN) to update the collections and renovate the media center at Robinson High School. Robinson had prioritized improving its FCAT reading scores and realized the media center was an underutilized resource due to its aged books and appearance. Through a series of School Excellence Grants, the Foundation was able to assist the raise in Robinson's Reading score from a D to a B. Even more exciting was the reaction of the students and the increased utilization of the media center. Some of the comments and feedback from students have included statements such as:
- "I'm going to have to come here more often."
- "This is SO much better than the old library."
- "This is starting to look like Barnes & Noble."
- "I don't mind reading if I can get comfortable while doing it."