Grants & Scholarships

Purpose

Innovative Teaching Grants are designed to encourage, facilitate, recognize and reward inventive and creative instructional approaches to accomplish program objectives and student learning.

The Grand Prairie Education Foundation ("Education Foundation") offers teachers and counselors the opportunity to apply for grants that encourage higher levels of student learning. The grants must enhance student academic performance and support the mission, goals and initiatives of both the campus and school district. Grant Awards are intended to be used as seed money to fund new programs and projects rather than previously funded projects.

Eligibility to Apply for Grants

Teachers or teams of teachers employed by the Grand Prairie ISD are eligible to apply for grants, as long as direct impact on students can be demonstrated. First time applicants will receive priority.

Scope and Requirements

Grants may fund instructional and classroom materials, parent involvement programs, or any activity or material that supports higher levels of student academic achievement. Grants must be in compliance with district goals and standards. Materials purchased with this grant are to remain property of the district. All applications require a principal's signature to ensure the alignment of the project with district curriculum goals.

Grant awards are based on the demonstrated needs of the project and funds available. A detailed budget is essential for projected costs, describing how the entire budget will be spent. All expenditures for equipment or supplies must be consistent with the description outlined in the application. Changes to the project must be approved by the Grant Committee before expenses will be funded. All Materials and equipment purchased with Education Foundation funds become the property of the Grand Prairie ISD and must be identified accordingly.

Grant Money is not awarded by the Education Foundation for the purpose of funding educator stipends. Grants also may not be used to purchase materials, such as core curriculum text and standard school supplies, which should be covered in the school's operational budget.

Grant funds will be held be in a district account to be drawn down by the grant applicant for the need of the project. Funds are not given directly to the grant recipient. It is expected that grant funding will be used by April 1st, 2026, or will be returned to the Education Foundation.

Award Levels:

Grants of up to $500.00 will be awarded to individual teacher-initiated programs or projects. Grants of up to $2,000.00 will be awarded to campus teams, departments and district-initiated programs or projects. The number of awards will depend on funds available from the Education Foundation.

Criteria

The following criteria will be used to review grant applications:

• Originality of the project, demonstrating educational innovation
• Evidence that students will benefit directly from the grant funding
• Clear goals that are well-articulated, attainable and measurable
• Accountability for funds as detained in budget request
• Evaluation plan, including measurable indicators of success Application Process:
• Application forms may be completed online at the following: conqmary@aol.com
• The open submission timeline will be posted on the Education Foundation webpage at www.gpisd.org. All applications must meet posted deadlines.

Selection Process

Applications that meet the stated criteria and are received on time will be forwarded to the members of the Education Foundation Grant Review Committee. Each committee member reads the grants and scores them using the Grants Evaluation score sheet. The committee meets to review the cumulative scores and makes funding recommendations to the Education Foundation's Board of Directors for final approval.

The Grant Review Committee will be comprised of Education Foundation board members, district staff and community representatives.

All applications will be subject to number-coded, blind review relative to applicants and specific campuses. Accordingly, specific reference to the applicant(s) and campus will be limited to information on the cover page. Please do not refer to the name of your campus or mascot anywhere within the application.

Applicants will be notified of the Committee's decisions in writing or by email, based on the Education Foundation's established timeline, and under the direction of the Committee.

Funds will be distributed per District purchasing guidelines.

Recipients will be required to sign a written acknowledgment form for their grant award, which will include instructions to complete funding of their project according to District purchase order guidelines. Failure to follow these procedures will be considered a forfeiture of any funds, and funds will be returned to the Education Foundation.

Tips for Completing the Application

To fully understand your proposed project, your application should be written with as much description and detail as possible for the review. When completing the application, keep the following in mind for each section.

State of Need

• Describe the area of student achievement you wish to address and provide supporting data. Specify how this grant addresses district and campus goals.
• Keep statements simple and straightforward.
• Show how the project relates to the District/Campus Action Plan(s).

Objectives

• Limit the number of Objectives.
• Imply or state evaluation in project implementation.
• Relate project to need and objectives.
• Be specific.

Evaluation

• Relate to stated objectives.
• Indicate how you will know whether the project was successful.

Remember

• Grants are to be used to fund projects that are not funded through the school or district budgets.
• Objectives and outcomes should be consistent with the goals of your school and the district.
• Grants cannot be used to fund teacher training or travel. When creating your budget, research carefully and be realistic. Small grants are just as likely to be awarded as large grants. Partial funding will be considered. Funds will not be awarded for budgeted items available from district resources.
• Projects awarded must be fully implemented within one year from the date funding was granted.