BCSF Grant Application 2015doc

Brookwood Schools Foundation Building Community Together

Grant Application 2015

GRANT APPLICATION GUIDELINES

Brookwood Cluster Schools Foundation Mission

The Brookwood Cluster Schools Foundation will provide private funding of innovative programs and

creative teaching methods to enhance the learning opportunities for the students of Brookwood Cluster

Schools.

Goal of the Foundation Grant Program

To enhance the education of Brookwood Cluster School students by encouraging and recognizing

innovative educational approaches and concepts that are not currently funded by the district.

Grant Eligibility

1. Grants may be submitted by the staff of the Brookwood Cluster Schools and must be implemented in conjunction with a Brookwood elementary, middle or high school program.

Grants must substantially improve or enhance the education of Brookwood students. If funded,

grant equipment, materials and ideas become the property of the Brookwood Cluster Schools and

cannot be used outside the Brookwood Cluster Schools district.

2. Grants are intended to fund the purchase of materials and/or equipment or expenses associated with the development or improvement of educational programs within the school.

3. Projects eligible for funding are those that enhance education and may not be funded by Gwinnett County Public Schools or Brookwood Cluster Schools.

Application Procedures

1. Applications must be typed, single-spaced, address all the eligibility standards listed above and be no longer than four pages.

2. One copy of the grant application must be turned into the local school principal no later than March 1st, 2015. The principal will need to read and sign the cover sheet.

3. The local school principal and a committee appointed by the principal will determine which grants will be submitted to the Foundation. Each Brookwood cluster school can submit up to

$3,000.00 in grants. Local principals will turn in selected grant(s) to the BSF by March 6, 2015.

4. Grant recipients may be asked to assist with publicity about their grant including a summary statement, photos and videos of their projects in action.

5. Grant funds are to be used as specified in the grant application or returned to the BSF.



PRINCIPALS GRANT APPLICATION CHECK LIST

Please include this checklist as a cover sheet with the grant application. All items must be checked and

completed before your application will be considered for funding. Incomplete applications will NOT

be considered.

Completed grant application was submitted to the local school by the March 1st deadline.

The grant application is typed, single-spaced and no longer than four pages in length.

An itemized project budget is included in the application.

Applicant and/or co-applicant have signed and dated the grant.

I have reviewed the grant application and checklist and it is complete.

_________________________________________________________________________

Principals Signature Date



BROOKWOOD SCHOOLS FOUNDATION

GRANT APPLICATION 2015

DEADLINE: Due to local school principal by March 1, 2015

Circle One: Elementary School Middle School High School Cluster-wide

Title of Project _Enhancing Solar Power and STEM Education Through the Use of Probeware_____

Number of students involved 300+ Grade level of students Juniors and Seniors__ Ages of students _16-18__

Subject areas involved AP Environmental Science, Physics, (applicable for numerous math and science courses)

Amount of funding requested _$1007.00______

Please note that full grant requests are funded when possible.

However, it may be necessary to fund some grants at a lesser amount in order to fund more grants.

Applicant Name __Carrie Settles________________

Position _Science Teacher________

Home Address _1360 Shyre Crest Way_Lawreneville, GA 30043_____________________________

Telephone Home _770-714-6737________________ Work ___770-972-7642______________________

If Applicable:

Co-Applicants Name Cat Trouteaud_______________________________________________________ Home Address __1700 Berry Lane_Snellville, GA 30078_______________________________

Telephone Home _404-210-7901___________________ Work ___770-972-7642___________________

Co-Applicants Name _____ _______________________________ Home Address _________________________________________

Telephone Home ____________________ Work _____________________

School _Brookwood High School____________

School Address _1255 Dogwood Road Snellville, GA 30078__________

School Principals Name __William Bo Ford____________________________

Applicant Signature & Date _____________________________________________________________

Co-Applicant Signature & Date __________________________________________________________

Co-Applicant Signature & Date __________________________________________________________



Part 1: Plan of Action Describe your project in detail and tell how you envision that your project will enhance student learning.

Part 2: Timeline

Please outline the timeline you will use to implement your project.

Part 3: Project Personnel and Collaboration

We are looking for a dynamic way to teach the importance of alternative energy, specifically

solar energy using STEM applications in our AP Environmental Science and Physics Classrooms.

Currently there are two pilots that we have been working with, a set of Nexus 7 tablets and a new

solar array that was just installed, which we would like to utilize in order to enhance instruction

and student engagement. In order to help develop our next generation of scientists and engineers,

we would love to put probes in the hands of our students so we can explore the solar array and

load the software onto this classroom set of tablets. Probe-ware has sensors that are connected to

computers/tablets that collect and display real-time measurements. Research shows that effective

use of digital tools and resources to promote higher order thinking, engaged student learning and

differentiated instruction as probe-ware is appropriate for a diverse range of learners to be able to

actively participate in data collection as the tactile and visual aspects of taking data and watching

as graphs are created in real-time should enhance student comprehension. Probes promote

learning goals such as scientific inquiry, authentic learning, project based learning, collaborative

learning, and higher order thinking skills as they will have the opportunity to take this data and

apply it on a larger scale and probeware helps K12 students in various ways, including its ability to provide familiarity with tools students use outside of school, better training opportunities for

future jobs, and venues for better inquiry teaching. The software/hardware we would like to use is

made by Vernier. They have a hardware/software interface that delivers data wirelessly to our

Android Tablets. There are a variety of probes that can be used with the software and they will

be able to detect light, sound, dissolved oxygen, energy sensors, UVB light, voltage, and the

beauty of these probes/sensors is that they can be used in all science disciplines along with the

interface for hands-on data collection. This is an opportunity for true collaboration as data can be

shared in real-time with an entire lab group via apps shared on mobile devices or data can be e-

mailed home or to an instructor. Any device with a web browser can be used to collect, view, and

manipulate the data (i-pad, android, i-touch, macs, any smart phone collaboration.

March: Purchase equipment in time for our unit on renewable energy sources. This will be a part of a fully

STEM integrated unit where they will use solar data from our new array and compare it to the data we get

from the probes. They will then engineer their own solar array using pigments from berries and test their

efficiency at generating electricity; they will use their math skills when analyzing the graphs and data

collection. Also, we would use the surface temperature comparison probe to test the heat emitted

from LED, compact fluorescent, vs. incandescent light bulbs. This study is done in both physics

and APES to test the efficiency of differing light bulbs, and to show how the second law of

thermodynamics.

Ongoing: Professional learning at Brookwood High School is mandatory and 6 of 20 documented

continuous improvement hours must be technology related. In the 2013-2014 school year 16 teachers

presented staff development offerings and 6 more were presented by the tech team. Our school places a lot

of value on what teacher-leaders can share with their colleagues. With this in mind, my plan would be for

two teachers to use the resources on the Vernier website to teach themselves the programs and then after

they feel comfortable presenting the resources in a Staff Development Offering (we call them Lunch 'n'

learns). Also, I am a member of our science vertical team, where I already presented to our cluster schools

how to utilize the solar array information for Brookwood High School, and at the fall meeting I will

introduce to our cluster schools the implications of using this probe-ware in conjunction with the array.



Projects that demonstrate collaboration between academic disciplines and/or grade levels and/or team

members are encouraged. Who will work on the project and what are their roles?

Part 4: Evaluation

What data will you collect to show the impact of your project on student achievement? How will you

measure the results of your project?

The Vernier probes are available for all science courses; they are rugged and therefore will

withstand many uses and provide high-quality results. Once we have the interfaces the

classroom teachers can order the probes that would work best in their classroom. There are

blood pressure sensors for Anatomy, CO2 sensors for biology, projectile launchers for physics,

and polarimeters for chemistry (there are over 80 probes that work with this interface!) For my

APES and physics classroom I want to start out with the probes that help their understanding of

electricity and light. At the science vertical team meeting I offered the middle school science

teachers to bring their students over to the high school to collect real-time data and view our

new solar array. They are working on a project based learning (PBL) to design their own solar

array (cost, size, energy output, etc.). As an extension for our STEM unit in my classroom, we

will actually be creating our own mini solar arrays using berries and these probes to determine

how much energy is generated from their array and what can they do to change their design to

get more efficiency. In order to solve one of the grand challenges of the 21st century, our

students need to understand the importance of making solar energy more efficient. It is my

hope that this is one way to do just that.

I will collect quantitative data on student performance on our energy unit this spring and I will

compare it to the scores from last year when we did not use the probes and solar array. I will

also take qualitative data in the form of interview questions from the students on the use of the

probes. Lastly, I will compare scores on our AP Exam this summer as compared to last

summer; I can analyze the scores and break down their performance by the unit.

More importantly the impact of these tools may not even be quantified on a test, because

students will be better prepared for their future career. The level of engagement has been

proven to increase because students will be using tools that are actually used in the field and

these activities make learning FUN and meaningful. Also, their ability to participate in global

projects using the data from this software is very powerful, and probably the best part of all is

that the emphasis is taken off memorization and put into problem-solving.



Part 5: Budget

Provide an itemized budget for your project. Grant funds are not to be overspent. Grant recipients must

make arrangements to pay for any bills or invoice amounts in excess of their grant award. Include any

additional donations of time, services, materials or financial support you have secured from other

sources.

Quantity Product Order Code Unit Price Total

Vernier Energy Sensor VES-BTA $69.00 $69.00

Light Sensor LS-BTA $55.00 $440.00

KidWind 2V/400mA Solar Panel KW-SP2V $11.00 $88.00

UVB Sensor UVB-BTA $107.00 $107.00

Surface Temperature Sensor STS-BTA $23.00 $23.00

Investigating Environmental Science

through Inquiry ESI $48.00 $48.00

Stainless Steel Temperature Probe TMP-BTA $29.00 $232.00

Submit

Product

Total $1,007.00



BSF GRANT ASSESSMENT SHEET

Applicant Fills Out Top Portion Only

Teacher: _________ Title: ________ School: ___________________

Amount Requested: _____________

Level: Elementary Middle High

Grant Component Score

Application meets formatting/submission guidelines and includes signed principal checklist

cover sheet.

Yes / No

Part 1: Plan of Action

Applicant clearly outlined and detailed the process used to implement the project.

____ out of 20

Part 2: Timeline

Applicant has clearly outlined the timeline to be used to implement the project.

____ out of 5

Part 3: Project Personnel and Collaboration

Project demonstrates collaboration between academic disciplines and/or grade levels and/or

team members. It includes who will work on the project and what their roles are.

____ out of 10

Part 4: Evaluation

Applicant has detailed what data will be collected to show the impact of the project on

student achievement. Information is given as to how the results will be measured.

____ out of 5

Part 5: Budget

An itemized budget for the project is provided. Any additional donations of time, services,

materials or financial support from other sources have been included.

____ out of 5

Budget reduction Could the grant be given for a lesser amount than requested?

Yes/No/Maybe

Overall quality of grant proposal

____ out of 5

Total Score _____out of 50 Comments:

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Documents

BCSF Grant Application 2015doc