BIRDVILLE EDUCATION FOUNDATION INNOVATIVE TEACHER GRANTS GUIDELINES

PURPOSE: The Innovative Teacher Grants are designed to encourage and facilitate new and innovative practice to improve teaching and learning in Birdville ISD.

ELIGIBILITY: Any individuals or teams of individuals employed by Birdville ISD are eligible to apply for grants.  Grant awards will be announced beginning in April 2021 for the 2021-2022 school year.

GRANT APPLICATIONS:  Applications must be filled out and submitted electronically.  Applications should be concise but thorough.  Please do not use abbreviations or acronyms.  The grant review teams are not educators and will not be familiar with language specific to educators.

GRANT DESCRIPTION:  Please describe any programs or initiatives with the full explanation. If the grant requested is for funding of year one in a program please describe on-going funding options and sustainability of the program.

While you are preparing your grant please keep in mind the following:

• Is your grant unique and innovative?
• Is it supported by research?
• Does it support a unique approach to educating and help to create a motivating and engaging platform for learning?

PLEASE AVOID REQUESTS FOR THE FOLLOWING:  

• Student Field Trips
• Magazine Subscriptions
• Speaker Fees
• Salaries
• Consumables (food related items, shirts, batteries, etc.)
  
  

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FURNITURE REQUESTS:   Please check with the school district before completing your grant application for furniture requests.  If your request is not covered by Bond funding or in the budget process and is an innovative approach to learning, you may be able to apply if the District reviews your request.

AWARD OF FUNDS:

• Grants of up to $2,000 will be awarded to a Classroom-Single Teacher
• Grants of up to $5,000 will be awarded campus-wide with only one per campus awarded.
• Grants of up to $5000 will be awarded to Middle and High School Department.  Elementary Schools are not eligible for this level.
• Grants of up to $5,000 will be awarded to the District/Administration.
• The number of awards will depend on the amount of funds available from the Birdville Education Foundation.

DUE DATE:  Applications must be signed and submitted no later than 5:00 p.m on Monday, February 1, 2021.  No late applications will be considered.  

SIGNATURE REQUIRED:  It is the responsibility of the grant requestor to send the application link to the campus principal or district administrator for review and signature on the grant application before it is submitted. Without the electronic signature, the system will automatically mark the application as incomplete and the application will be withdrawn.

STEPS FOR OBTAINING ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE:  

1. Upon completion of the grant application, use the "SAVE FOR LATER" feature offered at the bottom of the application form.
2. The system will save the application in progress and will provide you with a link in a pop-up window to retrieve the application on-line and continue.  Copy the link and save it in a location where you can retrieve it for future use. Send the link to your principal or administrator and request their review and signature on the last page. 
3. Review the grant before acquiring the signature using the "PREVIEW SUBMISSION" button. 
4. Send the link to your principal or administrator.  Request their signature on the last page. Using the mouse or touchpad have them sign the grant.  Once the grant is signed they will need to save the grant then click the "PREVIEW SUBMISSION" button then click the "SUBMIT FORM" button at the bottom of the electronic application.
5. You will receive an email with the subject line "Success! Your Grant Application Has Been Submitted" after your principal/administrator has signed and submitted the grant.  If you do not receive the email please contact your principal/administrator prior to 5:00 p.m. February 1, 2021.  
6. You will receive a copy of your submitted grant in PDF form in an email as both the body of the email and an attachment.  Your principals/administrators signature will be visible. 
7. If you don't receive a confirmation email or an email with a copy of your submitted grant please contact Jenna M. Waters at bisdef@birdvilleschools.net or 817.690.1921.
8. Grants submitted without the required signature will not be considered.

GRANT SELECTION PROCESS:  Eligible grant applications will be reviewed by appropriate district level personnel.  After review by district administrators, the grant applications will be evaluated by the Grant Application Review Committee composed of volunteers selected by the Birdville Education Foundation.  The grants selected to be awarded will be presented to the Birdville Education Foundation Board of Directors in March.

Applicants will be notified of grant award decisions beginning in April through the Education Foundation Campus Liaison program.  Education Foundation Campus Liaisons will notify the principals to make the arrangements for the presentations on the campus.

Once the announcements have been made, Patrice Morrison, Assistant to Associate Superintendent of Finance, will notify the principal, campus secretary, and recipient(s) that funds are available and may be accessed through the property procedures.

RESPONSIBILITY OF GRANT RECIPIENT:

• Check with the BISD purchasing department for approved vendor choices and/or availability.
• Check with the district technology department for compatibility and support when utilizing technology in the grant.
• Check with the district for review of furniture requests outside the scope of the Bond and district budget.
• Use grant funds for the stated purpose.
• File receipts for expenses related to the grant with the campus principal/district administrator.
• Capture 3 iconic photos of your grant in action and complete the Grant Evaluation Form. Send photos and the complete evaluation form to the Birdville Education Foundation by email to biesdef@birdvilleschool.net by May 3, 2022.  We encourage you to submit your Evaluation Form as early as possible.  The Grant Evaluation Form can be found online at www.birdvilleeducationfoundation.org under the grants section 

If you have any questions regarding the grant application process please contact Jenna M. Waters, Project Director, Birdville Education Foundation at 817.690.1921 [talk|text] or bisdef@birdvilleshools.net.