USD 257 superintendent Brian Pekarek gathered a small group of motivated teachers in Iola High School’s lecture hall Wednesday to discuss writing grant proposals to seek funding for local classrooms.
The presentation was a product of a job-embedded staff development program instituted by the school district. However, Pekarek said the teachers assembled voluntarily and the program is not required by the administration. The program was set up to instruct teachers on ways to attract funds from organizations willing to grant them to school districts, Pekarek said.
According to Pekarek, last school year the district acquired over $1.3 million in grant funds. Contributing organizations included Early Steps to Schools’ Success, Save the Children and a $600,000 grant from 21st Century. Grant money is distributed throughout the district to fund school trips, do facility upgrades and provide programs.
Linda Garrett, fourth-grade teacher at Jefferson Elementary School, said she has seen a definite need for extra funds in the school district. Due to recent budget cuts from the state, she said there is not enough room in the budget to provide for many things in the classroom and beyond.
“There just isn’t funding in our budget,” Garrett said. “ There isn’t money in the school districts to get done what needs to be done.”
While grant funds are beneficial to local schools, Pekarek said teachers do not directly profit from any gains. He said he believes this speaks directly to the ethics of the area’s teachers.
“There is no motivation to write grant proposals,” Pekarek said, “except for the fact that you are helping kids.”
Regina Young, an Iola Middle School math lab teacher, said writing grant proposals can add a lot of work to a teacher’s already busy schedule.
“It shows a lot of dedication and loyalty of the teachers to the students,” Young said. “I know it is a lot of extra work that we don’t need.”
This hard work is not always rewarded, Garrett explained. Many organizations are very specific about the type of proposals that are written, as well as in what way they are written. She said many organizations look for specific keywords and “jargon” that illuminate just how the funds will be used and how they are needed.
“If you are writing a grant, and that’s not what they are looking for, then you are wasting your time,” Garrett said.
PEKAREK SAID he believes a small group such as the one gathered Wednesday would give the teachers the collaboration and instruction they need to write successful grants. While the teachers were successful last year, he explained the school district needs to make decisions on how to allocate and distribute funds efficiently through the district.
Garrett said nothing will happen unless the teachers show the motivation to write grants. She said taking the time to make connections and learn the process is something that takes a significant amount of time, and some people need to see success before they are willing to commit their time.
Pekarek explained there needs to be constant upkeep of grant proposals, because many students have come to expect certain improvements to their activities — improvements made possible through additional funds. He said the economic state of the district needs the additional help.
