My New Endeavor- Grant Writing

As I mentioned in a previous post, my position in the library affords me the opportunity to think up and try new programs and activities that I never had the time to invest in as a classroom teacher. As a teacher, you have to be so married to your content area and its curriculum that there is very little time for building in the other types of activities and enrichment that are so important to a complete education for our students. In more affluent areas, there are lots of opportunites readily available for activities outside of school and parents are typically inclined more to make sure their kids are experiencing a wide variety of things, whether it's sports or piano lesons or traveling. It's not that these parents love their kids more; it's just that they have the resources and accessibility to make these kinds of enriching activities a part of their kids' lives. In South Dallas, there aren't places to take ballet or gymnastics. There aren't places to have pottery-making birthday parties or to take cello lessons. Our kids aren't chauffered in big SUV's from soccer practice to math tutoring to rock-climbing after school. They aren't taking trips to Disneyworld and the Grand Canyon in the summer time. These kinds of experiences that add so much to a child's "schema" or "toolbox" for learning are vacant in our student's lives for the most part. (I will share my "schema" theory in the future...if I remember! :-) ) At school, we see how the lack of rich experiences affects the learning process and how the students struggle to apply their learning to real world problem solving. Their view of the world and its possibilities can be quite limited because of limited options presented to them.

Because of this, I am very motivated to try to seek out opportunities and present "options" to the student beyond the academic information presented to them in the classroom each day...opportunities that deepen their knowledge and experiences, that allow them to interact in different settings with different people, and that make it okay for them to be who they are outside what of their immediate culture may expect them to be, if that makes sense. This year I started a girls' book club during lunch with the intent and hope of expanding it into much more. When I was in the classroom, I developed several strong relationships with a number of young ladies especially at our school....young ladies who are smart, sweet, and have so much potential! I am amazed at the strength and resiliency of women in the African-American culture and I can already see signs of that characteristic strength in these girls. These girls are outgoing, outspoken, and open to anything. Given positive options, I have no doubt that these girls could do anything. As many of you know, I work at a summer camp that focuses on girls and through that I have developed a love for people and programs that have a message of hope and empowerment for young girls...that believe in their intelligence, in their inner beauty, and their "amazingness!" In the summer I enjoy working in the midst of so many confident, successful, focused, and empowered women who are sending that message back to our young girls...which I feel is especially crucial in areas such as South Dallas where girls aren't always encouraged to be those things. So when I started my book club, I had the intention of developing it into a place where girls could be girls...read, talk, laugh, and have fun...but then use the opportunity to involve them in new things and new experiences, all while emphasizing the importance of education and goal-setting. I had grand ideas of monthly field trips to colleges and cultural events in Dallas, of Saturday workshops and luncheons in which various women come to speak and present on different things, whether it be college-readiness, self-esteem, or careers. There were plans for mentors, for "girls nights out", and great book discussions that would change their lives. I envisioned a week-long trip to Atlanta in which we would stop along the way to visit civil rights historical sights so that the girls could gain a deeper understanding of their past and people and get to know role-models of strength and integrity from the past who have made the world a better place through their committed acts of sacrifice. We would end up in Atlanta at Spelman College, a historically black college for women that is home to some of the smartest, most intelligent sisters in America. Many of my girls were in POD Spelman here at Pearl C. Anderson....I wanted it to be more than a name, but a goal. And while these were just ideas that I in my limited knowledge thought would be beneficial, I looked forward to seeking the input and collaboration of other women in the community, from mothers and grandmothers and aunts, who could tell me what they wanted for their daughters and what they wished they could offer them.

However, this grand scheme had one problem. Field trips and workshops and books and lunches cost money. The school is so dedicated to passing the TAKS that there are no funds for anything that doesn't fall under that big ugly umbrella. It was tempting to put another pie in the sky and go back to shelving books and hosting mediocre book club gatherings, but then my wonderful friend T.A. motivated me to stop complaining about what we don't have, what we can't do, what we haven't done...and just start doing something! I can't repeat his exact words because they might offend some of you, but basically he said stop griping and start a revolution. So I promptly decided to dig in and start somewhere. Theodore Roosevelt says, "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." So that's what I determined to do.

My first step was to research any available grants. I found several, but one to the Dallas Women's Foundation seemed particularly appropriate. The Dallas Women's Foundation advocates for programs that support the growth, health, and education of women and girls in Dallas County and after reading the guidelines, I felt our program would be right in line with their goals. The problem was that I found this grant at the end of December and it was due January 8th. When we returned to school, I diligently and determinedly went to work composing my proposal. It went well until the last section of attachments which required a whole bunch of financial documentation junk that I had no comprehension of whatsoever. The grant application is actually designed more for a non-profit organization than a school, so many of the requirements weren't exactly applicable to our organization, yet the guidelines clearly stated that if any portion were missing it would promptly be thrown out. I went to my principal who was as baffled as I was. We had about two days to figure it out though at that point (we went back to school on the 6th). She referred me to the district grants department and that's where I got on the Titan-sized roller coaster known as Dallas ISD policy. Apparently before you can submit a grant on behalf of a school in the distct, there is a huge rigamarole process you have to go through. You have to do something called an "Executive Summary" which is basically like writing a grant before you write a grant to get the district to approve your attempt to get money. It has to be signed off by about a million people, including the superintendent. Well, this being my first grant-writing experience, I didn't know this. I found out that Dallas ISD would not be allow me to submit the grant to the Foundation until all those million people had seen it and signed it. In the meantime, I still had to round up all this documentation from various departments...the budget office, the accounting office, the attorney's office...etc etc. However, determined and undeterrable, I pressed forward. I will skip most of the details of this ever-so frustrating process to say that I finally got sufficient documentation and got it signed by everyone required, including Dr. Hinojosa himself, and turned it in only 28 hours past the deadline. The Foundation accepted it at that point, but whether that will affect its being considered, I don't know. But I felt so relieved that finally I had DONE something...not just talked about it, wished for it, thought how great it could be, but DID something about. It was very invigorating. And despite the frustration, it was a learning process and I'm ready to start another one! I have three more applications that I would like to attempt for this particular program. Then my next endeavor will be to write grants to improve the technology situation in our media center (another future post! Wow...i think I'm actually getting into this blogging thing!) . It was infuriating to me how difficult the district made it to try to actually step up and take ownership and do something proactive on behalf of the district...I mean I wasn't asking them for money...I was trying to get money for them, for goodness sake! No wonder no one wants to write grants or attempt anything creative. But all I can do at this point is learn as much as I can about their process, whether I like it or not, keeping in mind that the kids here at Pearl C. and in South Dallas need people who are willing to fight for them, who are willing to go through frustrating situations in an attempt to make a more equitable and just learning environment for them, who are willing to do what it takes to level the playing field and make sure there are open doors of opportunity available.

Money is out there. So why shouldn't we take advantage of it?? Why shouldn't it be ours? I may have to jump through a few hoops and do a few clumsy backflips, but I'm sure gonna try! It will be worth a few knots on the head!

Check out some of the lovely young ladies below. Can't you just see them in a courtroom...in a classroom...head of a round table...in a labratory...in a lecture hall...or in a home, reading to their kids...writing books...writing grants...the possiblities are endless! :-)