BILL AND EVELINE STITT EARLY LITERACY MENTORING GRANT Application Guidelines Due Date: First Friday of March The grant deadline is the first Friday in March The grant will include projects for the upcoming summer and following school year Applicants will be required to submit a grant report and renewal application the following March that describes project outcomes and details any project changes for the coming summer and school year as well as growth related to the essential components GRANT APPLICATION GUIDELINES The Early Literacy Mentoring Grant committee has developed the following list of guidelines used to evaluate grant proposals These guidelines are provided to assist schools in developing proposals Please make sure you address each item in your proposal Acceptable Literacy Intervention/Mentoring Guidelines Projects must support early literacy intervention through the use of mentors "Mentoring" is a process that always involves communication and is relationship based Mentors could be paid or not paid (volunteers) Projects must be targeted towards children or students prekindergarten through second grade Projects must target children who are residents of/or attend school in Hancock County Initial target will be the Findlay City Schools and Hancock County Schools Projects must utilize mentors trained in basic literacy intervention skills and strategies related to early literacy needs of the targeted age group/population Projects must provide consistent, one-on-one or two-on-one mentoring of literacy skills for targeted students Projects must provide a well-developed explanation of the literacy intervention(s) and tools to be used and the rationale for their use Projects must detail recruitment strategies that will be used to secure mentors Projects that utilize books in print as part of the literacy intervention strategies will be favored Grant funds must supplement, not replace, state or local school funds Projects with full term mentor/child placements will be favored (at least half of a year) Needs Clarification Not Acceptable Literacy Intervention/Mentoring Guidelines Acceptable Needs Clarification Not Acceptable Acceptable Needs Clarification Not Acceptable Acceptable Needs Clarification Not Acceptable Acceptable Needs Clarification Not Acceptable Needs Clarification Not Acceptable Parent and community member involvement will strengthen a proposal Grants that include a technology component MUST show a compelling need and strong connection to increased student achievement Schools requesting funds for technology must also describe how the request fits in to the overall district technology plan This should include a support statement from the district technology supervisor and that individual’s signature on the application (an additional signature line can be added for this) Projects must provide a detailed evaluation plan and the tools to be used for evaluation Projects must describe how the proposed activities compliment other literacy activities taking place within the school For projects including community organizations (churches, service clubs, etc.), please provide a list of those organizations and the services each provide General Guidelines The grant is readable, neat, typed and completely filled out The grant uses good grammar, spelling and punctuation The grant is well thought out Statement of Need The grant will impact a significant number of students compared to the amount of funding being requested The grant details the type (special education, grade levels, etc.) of students that will participate and how students are selected Description The description of the project is complete All important components are described Grant activities are realistic The grant describes the number of students to be served and the grade levels of students Acceptable Goals Goals are realistic Goals are clearly defined Goals are appropriate for the age or ability level of the students Objectives Acceptable Needs Clarification Not Acceptable Acceptable Needs Clarification Not Acceptable Acceptable Needs Clarification Not Acceptable Acceptable Needs Clarification Not Acceptable Objectives are realistic Objectives are specific Outcomes are realistic Objectives are geared toward all participants Objectives are achievable within budget Objectives can be measured How objectives will be measured is clearly outlined The project is correlated to the state standards Timetable/Procedures The order of events is appropriate The timetable is realistic Budget The budget is realistic A specific, line item budget is provided If ordering items, include shipping in the total cost Plan for Evaluation of Project Types of evaluations to be used are specific, diverse and complete (Include Academic and Affective) The evaluation information to be used is for various reasons: evaluate project, develop future activities, project improvement, etc Specific criteria to measuresuccess/failure is detailed The evaluation plan is realistic The evaluation is measurable Specific measuring devices are in place from the beginning of the project A definitive plan for evaluation to show how the project’s objectives and goals were met (or not met) is included Specific evaluation tools are included and described in the application packet For links to best practices and strategies related to literacy interventions and mentoring, check out the following links This is by no means an exhaustive list Literacy Intervention www.readwritethink.org - This was created collaboratively between the International Literacy Association (ILA) and the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) and has thousands of reading and writing ideas for both educators and parents www.ohiorc.org - This is the Ohio Resource Center housed on the OSU campus It has thousands of teaching ideas in content areas and aligns to Common Core Standards www.literacy.kent.edu - This is the Ohio Literacy Resource Center housed at Kent State University It has thousands of excellent teaching ideas and the EUREKA! database of picture books for use with all ages http://www.fcrr.org/ - This is the Florida Center for Reading Research Part of its mission is to disseminate information about research-based practices related to literacy instruction and assessment for children in pre-school through 12th grade To this end, it has provided a selection of resources and materials of particular interest to education practitioners http://ymcareads.com/ymca-reads-teacher-resource-page/ - This site is for the YMCA READS! Reading Intervention and Mentoring Program The resource page lists a variety of student centered activities Mentoring http://library.ca.gov/crb/01/04/01-004.pdf - This resource provides information on strategies for choosing and supporting mentors http://www.mentoring.org/downloads/mentoring_415.pdf - This site includes a check list of the things necessary for establishing a mentor program While it is broad, it offers insight into several factors that are important to remember when creating mentoring programs http://educationnorthwest.org/sites/default/files/abcs.pdf - This site discusses the strategies for looking at various aspects of a mentoring program including the roles and responsibilities of the coordinator and what to assess to determine effectiveness of a program Skill Focus Phonemic Awareness: The insight that every spoken word can be conceived as a sequence of phonemes Phonemes are the speech sounds that are represented by the letters of an alphabet Phonemic awareness is closely related to phonics because both involve the connection between sounds and words While phonics is the connection between sounds and letters, phonemic awareness is the understanding that words are created from phonemes (small units of sound in language) These may seem like the same thing, but there is a subtle difference in the two Phonics is used only in written language because it involves letters Phonemes are sounds only While they can be represented using letters, they can also be simply the auditory sounds of words Phonemes are most often learned before a child begins to read because they are centered on the sounds of language rather than written words Phonemic Decoding: The ability to capture the meaning of unfamiliar words by translating groups of letters back into the sounds that they represent, link them to one’s verbal vocabulary and access their meaning Vocabulary: Understanding the words in a passage, including the specific dimensions of their meaning or usage that matter in context For example, knowing that “tree” when reading about a “family tree” has a different meaning from “maple tree.” Fluency: The ability to read with sufficient ease and accuracy that active attention can be focused on the meaning and message of the text and the text easily retained Comprehension: Thinking about the meaning of each segment of the text as it is read, building an understanding of the text as a whole and reflecting on its meaning and message