What is a focus grant?
WEEF works closely with Westerly Public Schools to offer a “focus grant” each year which correlates with WEEF's selected theme for that given grant cycle. A focus grant is a pre-funded grant that aligns with district needs and priorities. It was created in hopes that WEEF could have an impact on a larger population of students.
The Evolution of the Focus Grant
Rob Gouvin is a man with vision. The Westerly Middle School math teacher knows how to use technology as a tool to enhance teaching—to engage students and provide multiple avenues for them to learn and express their knowledge. He knows how to use programs and apps to differentiate learning for the wide array of learners in his classroom: bright students, struggling students, assertive kids and shy kids. Kids who learn visually, or auditorily, or by doing. He knows how to help
these kids get the most out of their education, and how to help them work together and recognize the strengths of their peers’ and their own learning styles. And, until last year, he was a man without enough technology to fulfill his vision.
The Westerly Education Endowment Fund, or WEEF, is an organization with vision. The organization provides grants for those who work with Westerly school students in an effort to promote innovation and creativity in the public schools. WEEF’s goal is to provide the seed money for programs which will have a lasting impact on students, and which may eventually be adopted by the district or sustained by other means for long-term success. But WEEF is limited in its funding abilities.
So when Rob Gouvin submitted a grant request for a cart of iPads for his classroom and for his middle school academic team, it was a bigger grant than WEEF could provide.
Enter Mark Lamson, Director of Technology at Westerly Public Schools (WPS). Another man with a vision. A vision in which teachers use and have access to technology to improve educational outcomes for all learners. And a man who happened to have a partial cart of iPads which were in high demand throughout the district. But how to distribute them in the most effective manner?
Last year, three visions intersected, and when they met something wonderful happened. A unique collaboration between WEEF and WPS blossomed, and a focus grant cycle was born. WEEF was able to provide enough funding to round out the partial cart of iPads—and a call for grant submissions was put out at Westerly Middle School for the most innovative and effective use of an iPad cart to enhance student learning. And you can bet that Rob Gouvin answered that call.
“iPads in the Classroom,” was the inspiration for the development of an annual focus grant. It exemplified innovation and collaboration, and the proposal contained evidence that it could measurably improve student achievement. Additionally, Rob Gouvin and his colleagues, Chris Ritacco, Darren Mansfield, and Mike Reyes, were committed to teaching other WPS staff techniques on the use of technology to improve learner outcomes. It was a win-win-win for everyone involved!
The collaboration between WPS and WEEF maximized the impact of a single grant on students – a priority at the forefront of WEEF’s aspirations. Coordinating with
the district allowed WEEF the opportunity to offer a specialized grant in sync with WPS needs, goals, and vision, while still aligned with WEEF’s own guidelines and vision. It also afforded teachers an opportunity to take leadership roles in targeted areas of professional development. The success of “iPads in the Classroom” has been clear, paving the way for the addition of a new type of grant cycle at WEEF: the focus grant.
these kids get the most out of their education, and how to help them work together and recognize the strengths of their peers’ and their own learning styles. And, until last year, he was a man without enough technology to fulfill his vision.
The Westerly Education Endowment Fund, or WEEF, is an organization with vision. The organization provides grants for those who work with Westerly school students in an effort to promote innovation and creativity in the public schools. WEEF’s goal is to provide the seed money for programs which will have a lasting impact on students, and which may eventually be adopted by the district or sustained by other means for long-term success. But WEEF is limited in its funding abilities.
So when Rob Gouvin submitted a grant request for a cart of iPads for his classroom and for his middle school academic team, it was a bigger grant than WEEF could provide.
Enter Mark Lamson, Director of Technology at Westerly Public Schools (WPS). Another man with a vision. A vision in which teachers use and have access to technology to improve educational outcomes for all learners. And a man who happened to have a partial cart of iPads which were in high demand throughout the district. But how to distribute them in the most effective manner?
Last year, three visions intersected, and when they met something wonderful happened. A unique collaboration between WEEF and WPS blossomed, and a focus grant cycle was born. WEEF was able to provide enough funding to round out the partial cart of iPads—and a call for grant submissions was put out at Westerly Middle School for the most innovative and effective use of an iPad cart to enhance student learning. And you can bet that Rob Gouvin answered that call.
“iPads in the Classroom,” was the inspiration for the development of an annual focus grant. It exemplified innovation and collaboration, and the proposal contained evidence that it could measurably improve student achievement. Additionally, Rob Gouvin and his colleagues, Chris Ritacco, Darren Mansfield, and Mike Reyes, were committed to teaching other WPS staff techniques on the use of technology to improve learner outcomes. It was a win-win-win for everyone involved!
The collaboration between WPS and WEEF maximized the impact of a single grant on students – a priority at the forefront of WEEF’s aspirations. Coordinating with
the district allowed WEEF the opportunity to offer a specialized grant in sync with WPS needs, goals, and vision, while still aligned with WEEF’s own guidelines and vision. It also afforded teachers an opportunity to take leadership roles in targeted areas of professional development. The success of “iPads in the Classroom” has been clear, paving the way for the addition of a new type of grant cycle at WEEF: the focus grant.
