The Educator’s Dilemma: Securing
Grants for Education to Get Funding for your Students
As you well know, we are currently in a period of major
education
changes. Teachers and administrators are deeply concerned with finding ways to address the new ,
Common Core Standards
which are being put into place across the US but with limited funding securing grants for education becomes a major task. The old teaching methods of standardized testing with fill-in-the-blank answers are being phased out, in favor of hands-on, project based education solutions that fully engage students.
We are at that point that we recognize that to survive and thrive as a nation, we must find ways to get our students involved as early as possible in
STEM education
(Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) related fields of study, so that they have the tools and background needed to succeed in both higher education and the workforce of tomorrow. Finding the tools to help address these concerns—tools such as the fischertechnik STEM Lab Program, which combines hands-on,
project based learning
with complete, standards focused curriculum –is often just part of the answer. For most school districts, the other dilemma is finding ways to actually fund these solutions.
Happily, despite all the grim economic talk you may hear, there are in fact many, many avenues available to help schools get the money they need…if one is willing to do a little research and preparation.Because the need for
STEM education
to create savvy citizens and globally competitive workers is so widely recognized, this funding is available from a variety of sources. This includes
educational grants
from foundations and public sources, such as Carl D. Perkins Funds, and Title II Funds, and also from numerous corporate sponsors such as Westinghouse, Boeing, Lockheed-Martin and Verizon. Performing a few careful web searches, using select keywords and terms such as “
Grants
”, “
STEM Grants
”, “
STEM Funding
”, “
Education Grants
” and so on (as well as searching for grants specific to your state or region), will yield a wealth of results. Skim the sites and listings to see which sources on first glance seem like your school may qualify to receive them.
Once you have determined a few that you believe you have the best chance of qualifying for, the next step is to put together a
grant proposal
Writing a Grant Proposal
) While this will initially require a bit of time and research, with a few tweaks, you should be able to use much of this information to apply for numerous grants.
Because the whole grant proposal process can seem a bit confusing if you haven’t been through it before, Studica has put together a special “
Grant Proposal Resource
” PDF. This document provides a step-by-step guide to preparing your grants for education proposal—from research to actual writing. We’ve also put together a helpful list of sources of potential
STEM education funding
, as well as a list of STEM focused organizations. The Studica “Grant Proposal Resource” is available free of charge or obligation. To register for your free copy, simply visit our
grant proposal resource
I would also like to remind you about our upcoming webinar presentation on Thursday May 2nd, in which we will discuss the importance of
STEM literacy
, the changes occurring in education today, and how the new
fischertechnik STEM Lab Program
can help you to meet the needs of your students. You’ll learn how this cutting-edge
STEM education solution
integrates science, math, reading and writing, and provides students with an engaging, hands-on learning experience that supports the new Common Core Standards, while promoting the skills required for success in our technology based world. Space is limited, Register for free STEM Education Solutions webinar now.
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