In my high school, we had a magnet program. It was Bio-Tech and any student from Prince William County could apply with the recommendation of his or her science teacher and a grade of "B" or "A" in math or science. The program was advertised as team taught meaning that the core subject teachers got together and figured out ways to put STEM related elements into their history, English and other related courses. Even the Art, Computer Science and Business Departments figured out ways to implement Bio-Tech topics in their curriculum. The librarian was very supportive of the program supervisor and any teacher connected to the program and any teacher who wanted to help out.
The problem was that many teachers tapped for the program didn't have the interest in manipulating their curriculum to fit a specific mission. It seemed to them to be a square peg - round hole issue. It didn't help that the students coming into the program were placed in advanced history and English courses and they didn't have the skills or aptitude to meet the demands of an advanced course.
That meant the teacher in charge of humanities for ninth-grade Bio-Tech (me) had students who lacked basic writing skills, study habits and were many times behavior problems despite the "glowing" recommendations the science or math teachers had written for the eighth-grade darlings. I had high achieving students ready for college-level work and students who didn't know how to paragraph or the proper use of capital letters.
One of my remedies was to try and create competition or a school within the magnet school. Only the brightest and best would get a "free" laptop and these students would form research teams that worked to present two programs using distance learning each year. By the time these teams reached their senior year (8 presentations later), I hoped that big-league schools would be clamoring for them to apply because their products would have won awards and they would have picked up skills in multiple areas. I've given you the link to the (sorry gang it's old, but grant formats haven't changed that much) draft grant proposal so that you can use it as an example.
Students are incredibly savvy and I believe offering a school within a school research competition could spark incredible outcome-based projects that then could be streamed live. The quality of Video Conferencing provided by Tandberg may be dated by now, but the presentation I attended was amazing. No personal microphones were needed - the ceiling had mics installed so presenters could move freely about the room. A monitor allowed the presenter to have instant feedback and scale back movements and facial ticks if they became too hot. It was a super experience just to be part of the presentation. I wish every teacher could get this kind of instant feedback.
So, if you have low-income or special needs population and want a home-run grant - then take a look at this and up-date it because it has legs. Students need a direction, an audience and a purpose for their research and working in teams makes them even more marketable. The leaves keep falling - I hope you are taking care of yourself and still excited about the new year ahead.
Sample Grant Proposal
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