Grant Gazette

In August 2023, Wedgewood Middle School was awarded a five-year grant from the Ohio Department of Education through the 21st Century Community Learning Center Grant. The grant totals $850,000 and will be used to fund literacy, math, family engagement, and youth development activities during after-school hours. This program is being administered by Actions that Matter For Youth (ATM4Youth). If you're interested in learning more, please contact the school office or ATM4Youth at community@atm4youth.org.

The following are upcoming deadlines in Title 1 Crate:

No new November due dates, but the following will be due December 1st:

• Needs Assessment
• School Improvement Plan

To assist in finding funding, the State and Federal Programs office has a process in place to assist you. We will review your request and respond with available grants. A grant search can be initiated by clicking on the following link:

Request for Grant Opportunity Assistance

If you are looking to expand STEM initiatives at your school, keep an eye out for these two upcoming b grants.

• Shell Oil Company Grant - Grant requests related to education must focus on energy awareness with special publics. These include increasing interest in technical careers among students, and professional development in science and mathematics for educators. Funding is provided to support programs in kindergarten through grade 12 that are designed to boost students’ mathematics and science skills. Awards vary. Rolling deadline.
• Change Happens Foundation Grant - The Change Happens Foundation provides grants in the fields of science and the environment, as well as education initiatives aimed at preparing students for fulfilling and successful futures. Awards vary. Rolling deadline.

Grant Name: McCarthey Dressman Education Foundation - Teacher Development Grants

Amount: up to $10,000, renewable for two years

Application Due: Accepted January 15 - April 15, 2024

These grants offer teachers the chance to implement innovative teaching strategies that promote critical inquiry and assess their impact on students. Teachers can reflect and document their projects, as well as share their findings with other educators.

Grant Name: Apples for Education

Amount: $5,000

Application Due: January 24, 2024

The U.S. Apple Association will fund five healthy snacking initiatives on school campuses across the United States in 2022. Submit your school for grant funding for supplemental nutrition or programs that teach students how to make healthy choices.

Grant Name: Peter R. Marsh Middle School Music Grant

Amount: $1,000

Application Due: By January 31, 2024

The Peter R. Marsh Foundation, headquartered in Camas, WA, is offering 150 Music Grants to middle school music teachers during the 2023-24 school year. A Music Grant has a value of $1,000.00 and is limited to one per middle school per year.

The information shared below is exclusively for schools identified as Title I schools, which means that they are identified as a schoolwide facility receiving allocated funds.

The primary goal of Title I funds is to provide supplemental instruction. To use the allocated funds, it is crucial to meet this requirement since the purpose of Title I is to fulfill the need for supplemental instruction. Unfortunately, due to the shortage of teachers, tutors, and other licensed professionals for classroom instruction, some schools may find it challenging to meet this obligation.

To support schools, the Ohio Department of Education has approved a proposal providing an alternative method of meeting the requirement for supplemental instruction. Effective immediately, schools can hire a paraprofessional (instructional assistant) to provide supplemental instruction during the school day, after the school day, or outside the school day, provided that the following criteria are met:

• The paraprofessional must have some college education, a degree, and/or pass the Parapro exam. If the Parapro exam is taken, the certificate must have it listed.
• The paraprofessional must provide supplemental instruction under the supervision of a certificated/licensed teacher in the content and/or grade span.
• The paraprofessional must have a documented daily schedule under teacher(s) and classroom location, which must be uploaded in Title I Crate.
• The paraprofessional must have a documented lesson plan that supports supplemental instruction, which must match the needs of the students. The lesson plan must also be uploaded in Title I Crate.

These guidelines are in addition to current programming/FTE/activities for supplemental instruction. If there is an Instructional Assistant already at the school and being paid from Title I, the remaining compliance requirements must be met.

State and Federal Programming will continue to work with schools to realign budgets as needed. However, the majority of Title I funds must still be used to supplement instruction before addressing non-academic barriers, such as professional development, PBIS, purchases of devices, and services.

grants@columbus.k12.oh.us