Create a Strong Foundation for Your K–12 Classrooms of the Future

What do classrooms of the future entail and how do we build a plan to meet future demands? K–12 education is on the cusp of answering these questions and more as it moves away from traditional styles of teaching and learning to focus on educational technology and classroom innovation.

In this article, Alexandra Frost shares

  • find funding sources for classroom updates;
  • plan 1-to-1 programs;
  • prioritize investments and upgrades; and
  • build equity into conversations.

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Most Popular Funding Opportunities Last Month

In the previous month, educators were looking for funding opportunities in the areas of arts, technology, academic achievement, and more. Check out which grants GetEdFunding educators viewed the most in May.

Halliburton Foundation Grants

The Halliburton Foundation accepts grant proposals from U.S. based nonprofit organizations that serve the following areas: education, health, and social services. Strong preference is given to organizations in areas where there is a significant presence of Halliburton employees and operations. Education grants focus on energy related subjects such as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), and literacy.

Deadline: Applications are accepted year-round.

Saxena Family Foundation Grants

The Saxena Family Foundation has a particular focus on initiatives that promote US science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and the empowerment of girls, female children, and young women so that they have equal rights later in life. The foundation focuses on empowerment programs to include economic, educational, and political empowerment of women through literacy programs, jobs, and life-skills training. Previous grantees have included schools, universities, and nonprofit organizations.

Deadline: Applications are accepted year-round.

Toshiba America Foundation Grants For Elementary Level Teachers (K-5)

The foundation offers grants to elementary-level teachers for projects that focus on innovative ideas for improving science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning in the classroom. Projects should have measurable outcomes and make learning fun for students.

Deadline: Applications are due October 1, annually.

K-12 Classroom Teacher Grant

The Society of Aviation and Flight Educators, Inc. (SAFE) is offering four grant awards designed to encourage kindergarten through grade 12 classroom teachers to incorporate aviation-themed lessons into their normal curriculum. Aviation and aerospace topics are the perfect adjunct for teaching science, mathematics, history, and art. Aviation and aerospace are topics that generate enthusiasm with all types of learners and all ages of students. Grants may be used to design an aviation-themed classroom unit or complete an aviation-themed project. Two grants are awarded to applicants for kindergarten through grade 7 and the other two grants are awarded to applicants for grades 8 through 12.

Deadline: Applications are due August 31, annually.

Youth Club Grants

The USA Track and Field Foundation seeks to support and expand high-quality programs that provide opportunities for youth athletes to compete in track and field events. Youth track clubs and programs from all areas of the United States may apply for financial assistance for programs that attract diverse ethnic and socioeconomic youth and promote character building; education; and healthy, drug-free behaviors. Funds may be used for equipment, uniforms, meet fees, facility rental, staff and volunteer training, and outreach.

Deadline: Applications are accepted year-round.

Without Supplemental Pandemic Funding, Digital Divide Risks Increase

The COVID-19 pandemic brought forth clarity on many pain points in education, especially with the digital divide. Many schools were still operating under a 19th century framework when the pandemic started, further exasperating the need for upgrades. Since 2020, $190 billion in federal funds have been distributed to help schools close the digital divide through updates and infrastructure. However, the challenge still remains of how schools can secure long-term funding to continue modernization efforts.

In this article, Ryan Petersen shares

  • the pandemic’s impact on the digital divide;
  • how schools are modernizing classrooms and infrastructure; and
  • the need for long-term funding solutions.

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Most Popular Funding Opportunities Last Month

In the previous month, educators were looking for funding opportunities in the areas of arts, technology, academic achievement, and more. Check out which grants GetEdFunding educators viewed the most in April.

Early Childhood Education Grants

The Caplan Foundation for Early Childhood provides grants for innovative, creative projects and programs that significantly enhance the development, physical and mental health, safety, nutrition, education, and quality of life of children from birth through age seven. The foundation focuses its support in three areas: early childhood welfare, early childhood education and play, and parenting education. The foundation’s goal is to provide seed money for imaginative endeavors that address the needs of young children.

Deadline: Applications are due May 31, 2023.

Education Grants, I Could Do Great Things Foundation

I Could Do Great Things Foundation awards grants to help turn great ideas into a reality. Projects of any type will be considered and must have a charitable purpose and offer a fresh approach to the topic or need to be met. Priority is given to endeavors that relate to education, community, and Jewish causes.

Deadline: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

Education Grants, Stanley W. Ekstrom Foundation

The Stanley W. Ekstrom Foundation awards grants for a variety of educational projects and programs with goals of improving education, including science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in local high schools and helping academically gifted students from financially challenged families to pursue higher education. Related areas of interest are support for women and children at risk and amateur athletics. Examples of previous grants include for “eco ambassadors” with a community garden, technology upgrades in classrooms, support for a charter school foundation, and school choirs.

Deadline: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST)

The Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program provides prekindergarten through grade 12 students and their teachers with equitable and inclusive access to robust, rigorous, and effective learning opportunities using technology integral to a high-quality formal and informal education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

Deadline: Applications are due August 11, 2023.

NSHSS STEAM Educator Grants

The National Society of High School Scholars (NSHSS) offers STEAM Educator Grants that support science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) activities; innovation; and classroom excellence. Grants may be used for supplies, materials, field trips, and other resources that enhance STEAM teaching and learning.

Deadline: Applications are due August 15, 2023.

Avoid These Four Pitfalls When Implementing Online Education Software in K-12

In 2022, ed tech adoption in K–12 settings increased by 99 percent. The demand for digital learning software shows that technology is not just an add-on in classrooms anymore, but a primary tool that allows teachers to create individualized education plans, interactive content, and repositories of course content. Despite the many benefits, there are potential hazards to avoid by following a few best practices.

In this article, Charlie Sander shares

  • how to vet digital learning software;
  • tools to reduce the risk of cyberattacks; and
  • strategies for proper software use, privacy compliance, and interoperability.

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Most Popular Funding Opportunities Last Month

In the previous month, educators were looking for funding opportunities in the areas of arts, technology, academic achievement, and more. Check out which grants GetEdFunding educators viewed the most in March.

Fruit Tree Orchard Donation Grants

The Fruit Tree Planting Foundation awards donations of edible fruit trees, planting resources, and supporting curriculum materials to eligible public schools, including colleges and universities, and private nonprofit schools and organizations. Fruit tree donations are provided for the purpose of benefiting people and the environment and, in the case of schools, for educating on the importance of trees for the environment and fruit in the diet.

Deadline: Applications are accepted year-round.

Racial Equity in STEM Education

The National Science Foundation supports bold, groundbreaking, and potentially transformative projects that advance the scholarship of racial equity and address systemic racism in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and workforce development. Contexts may include prekindergarten through grade 12; two- and four-year undergraduate and graduate institutions; municipal organizations; STEM workplaces; and informal STEM settings such as museums, community organizations, and media.

Deadline: Applications are due October 10, 2023.

Toshiba America Grant Program for Science and Mathematics Educators

Toshiba America Foundation accepts applications from teachers who are passionate about making science and mathematics more engaging for their students. The foundation seeks to support teachers by providing funds to support classroom projects. The foundation strongly encourages projects planned and led by individual teachers or teams of teachers for their own classrooms. Successful projects tap into the natural curiosity of students, enable students to frame their own scientific questions, and incorporate the expertise of community partners.

Deadline: Requests for grants less than $1,000 for kindergarten through grade 5 are due October 1, annually. Requests for grants less than $5,000 for grade 6 through grade 12 are due March 1, June 1, September 1, and December 1, annually. Requests for grants of more than $5,000 for grade 6 through grade 12 are due May 1 and November 1, annually.

Digital Humanities Advancement Grants

The Digital Humanities Advancement Grants program supports innovative, experimental, and/or computationally challenging digital projects, leading to work that can scale to enhance scholarly research, teaching, and public programming in the humanities.

Deadline: Optional draft proposals are due April 17, 2023. Applications are due June 15, 2023.

Advancing Education Special Project Grants

Colibri Grants, Inc. awards Advancing Education Special Project Grants to kindergarten through grade 12 public school teachers across the nation. Competitive projects will significantly advance and influence student learning to meet the unfunded educational needs of students. There are no restrictions to a proposal’s subject matter or area of curriculum.

Deadline: Applications are accepted year-round.

laying-the-groundwork-for-esports-in-kindergarten

Laying the Groundwork for Esports in Kindergarten

The mention of esports typically conjures images of teenagers in headsets, positioned in front of colorful keyboards and brightly lit computer monitors. As competitive gaming grows popularity at high schools and colleges across the nation, it becomes even more important to lay the groundwork for these teams early on. Learn how to introduce game-based education to increase students’ skills.

In this article, Jen Dawson shares

  • the value of introducing esports in kindergarten;
  • potential tech strains and how to overcome them; and
  • how to build partnerships and forge a pipeline supporting students in esports.

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Most Popular Funding Opportunities Last Month

In the previous month, educators were looking for funding opportunities in the areas of arts, technology, academic achievement, and more. Check out which grants GetEdFunding educators viewed the most in February.

Brady Education Foundation Education Grants

The Brady Education Foundation seeks to close the achievement gap for children at risk for poor school outcomes due to environmental factors associated with living in poverty. The foundation is focused on the development and evaluation of programs that are consistent with a strength-based approach and show promise of being feasible, effective, and sustainable. 

Deadline: Stage one applications are due April 1, August 1, and December 1, annually.

Initial Teaching Alphabet Foundation

The Initial Teaching Alphabet (i.t.a.) is a phonemic alphabet based on the phonemic sound system of the English language. It was designed to present the beginning reader and writer with a logical and reliable reading and writing system. The foundation promotes literacy through the use of the i.t.a. to help students perform better in school, have a healthy self-image, and become lifelong learners.

Deadline: Letters of Intent are due April 1, annually.

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Program

The Air Force Office of Scientific Research supports educational and workforce development initiatives in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) targeting kindergarten through grade 16 and adult learners. Proposal plans in a range of size and complexity may establish, build, or maintain educational pathways and space-related workforce opportunities addressing the scientific and technical areas identified in the program solicitation. Applicants are strongly encouraged to consider underrepresented and underserved populations including women and minorities. Special audience priority areas may include, but are not limited to, military connected students, veteran initiatives, and education systems integral to Air Force science and technology.

Deadline: Applications are due April 14, 2023.

The Charles Lafitte Foundation Education Grants

The Charles Lafitte Foundation (CLF) supports innovative and effective ways of helping people help themselves and others around them to achieve healthy, satisfying, and enriched lives. The foundation supports organizations working in four main areas: education, children’s advocacy, medical research and initiatives, and the arts. CLF helps individuals gain access to schools, from preschool through college, by issuing grants and taking an active role in exploring new approaches to education.y. 

Deadline: Applications are accepted year-round.

Fluor Foundation Education Grants

Fluor Foundation makes grants that support science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in communities where the company operates. Priority is given to programs that inspire and prepare students to excel in STEM and are committed to developing the next generation workforce, improving teacher effectiveness with emphasis on STEM student proficiency and persistence, and cultivating leadership skills in youth.

Deadline: Letters of Inquiry are accepted year-round.

Teach Self-Management Skills

4 Ways to Personalize Learning and Teach Self-Management Skills

Although education has undergone rapid changes in the past few years, many of the processes have stayed the same. At this year’s Future of Education Technology ConferenceAlberto and Mario Herraez, also known as the eTwinz, opened with this thought starter in their Thursday session, “Fostering Self-Regulation Skills and Personalized Learning in an Elementary Setting.”

The Herraez twins noted that technologies have changed with time — from photocopies to Microsoft OneNote — but the delivery process remains the same for many schools. Teachers deliver information to students, who are expected to absorb and remember the lessons.

The Herraezes shared strategies they used when working as fifth and sixth grade educators in Utah. They argued that personalizing learning and teaching students self-management skills prepares them for the workforce they’ll one day enter. They cited data from the World Economic Forum’s 2020 report “The Future of Jobs,” which showed the increased demand for employees with self-management skills.

As they explained the ways they incorporated these pedagogies and skills into their classrooms, the Herraezes encouraged districts to follow their example.

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covid funding cliff

K-12 Schools Share Their Strategies for Addressing the Coming Federal Funding Cliff

The COVID-19 pandemic essentially ended the conversation about whether school districts should embrace one-to-one programs that put a computing device into the hands of every student.

“During COVID, a large number of individual devices were deployed,” says Amy McLaughlin, Cybersecurity Initiative director at the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN). “We exited the conversation of, ‘Should we do one-to-one?’ and entered the conversation of, ‘How do we maintain one-to-one?’”

Historically, many school districts have struggled to build device refresh cycles into their operating budgets. Often, new interactive displays or laptops are bought with one-time, nonrecurring funds, such as bond money for a school building project. More recently, schools received multiple rounds of federal government funding from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, the Emergency Connectivity Fund, and other grants to make necessary ed tech purchases.

As McLaughlin notes, the lifecycle for mobile devices such as laptops and tablets is much shorter — about three years, she suggests — than the lifecycle of a school building. In a 2022 CoSN survey, 75 percent of districts said federal economic stimulus funds were significant for supporting hybrid learning. Of those that relied on emergency funding for IT initiatives, 60 percent used the money to purchase devices.

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