COMMUNITY SERVICE LEARNING PROGRAM
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
Effective Service-Learning Projects go beyond simply using the community as a learning laboratory. Of equal importance is the attempt to solve school and community problems, meet human and environmental needs, and advocate for laws or programs that promote the common good. Through addressing real-life problems in their communities, students are challenged to work together to exercise the rights and responsibilities of democratic citizenship…Service learning is distinguished from community service or volunteerism in two ways: 1) The service activity is integrated with academic skills and content; and 2) Students engage in reflection activities on their experience… adapted from NCSS Position
Statement on Service Learning
The Tantasqua Regional/Union 61 Community Service Learning Advisory Council will be awarding grants to support Tantasqua Regional/Union 61 school-based community service-learning projects. The purpose of this program is to encourage curriculum units that connect classroom learning with community service in genuine collaborative effort.
The Tantasqua Regional/Union 61 Community Service Learning Advisory Council invites proposals that accomplish the following:
- Continue, or expand, previous successful grants
- Experiment with new ways of motivating students to connect and apply learning to their personal lives
- Help students experience the personal satisfactions of contributing something of value to others
- Make a positive contribution to their community
- Helps students value their school and community
- Involve collaboration with other educators, students, schools, and community organizations
- Include reflection
- Involve educators, students, and community organization members in design and implementation
- Connect different areas of the curriculum
- Funding: Up to $250.00
- Eligibility: Any student, educator, or community organization representative of the Tantasqua Regional/Union 61 Regional may submit a proposal. Each proposal must have a student, educator, and community organization partner. Both students and educators must be members of the Tantasqua Regional/Union 61 District. Failure to complete a final report for a previous grant will be grounds for disqualification. (Please make note of the Grant Recipient. Guidelines.)
Expectations of Award Recipients:
- Complete a final report, which includes evaluation and budget expenditures (including receipts), and return to Linda Friedman no later than May 21, 2010.
- Promote the project at school and/or community functions.
- Participate in the Annual CSL Celebration, which is scheduled for TBA.
Funded Expenses: Funded expenses may include materials, transportation, and fees. Honoraria may be awarded in special cases. In unusual circumstances the Board may be persuaded to approve an equipment purchase. Care should be taken that the cost of the project reflects its scope. Expendable items must be used to provide community services. Non-expendable items must become the property of the school and/or community. Provisions for storage, access, and use of these items must be made by the project partners.
Proposal Requirements: All applicants must submit a grant proposal, which includes the Application, the Applicant Information Form and the Financial Information Form.
Award Criteria: Each grant proposal will be judged on the following criteria:
- 5 points - Value of community service
- 5 points - Connection to curriculum
- 5 points - Collaborative effort
- 3 points - Clarity of goals and objectives and effectiveness of evaluation plan
- 2 points - Creativity and innovation
GRANT RECIPIENT GUIDELINES
- IMPORTANT – Save all receipts of expenditures as money can not be reimbursed without them. Receipts should be turned in all together.
- Keep your school coordinator informed of what is happening with your project. The coordinator will ask you for an up-date with an interim report.
- Highlight what you are doing with press releases, when possible. Write your own or contact the building public relations person if your school has one. Otherwise, contact the CSL Advisory Board. *see acknowledgement of support below
- You will be expected to update your report submitted originally and add a reflection piece at the end of your project.
- Keep a file of student work, student reflections, and anything else that is pertinent to your project.
- Plan on attending our awards celebration.
- Create a backboard or display for the awards night.
- Invite students and community affiliates to participate.
- Share your project with your school and your community, whenever possible.
If you have any questions about these guidelines, please contact your school coordinator or the Grant Coordinator at (508)867-7691 or friedmanl@tantasqua.org .
* Acknowledgement of support: Publications or other products, including but not limited to CD-Roms, videos, or web pages created by grantees or participants must include a Learn and Serve America logo if they are consistent with the purposes of the Grants. The Grantee is responsible for assuring that the following acknowledgement
and disclaimer appears in any external report of publication of material based upon work
supported by this grant.
“This material is based upon work supported by the Corporation for National and Community Service under Learn and Serve America Grant number 354-B. and USDOE 524B. Opinions or points of view expressed in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Corporation or the Learn and Serve America Program.”
Submission: Two copies of the grant proposal should be given to the CSL school coordinator.
Deadline: All proposals are due to the CSL school coordinators by October 29, 2009.
Notification of awards will be made by October 30, 2009 .
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