The St. Croix Foundation is pleased to announce that the second round of Sprint to Excellence Education Grants is being offered to public schools on the island of St. Croix. As an extension of the Foundation’s Model Schools Initiative, the Sprint to Excellence Grant Program was launched in the fall of 2011 and offers grants up to $10,000 to schools for projects in the following priority areas: 1) Innovative Instruction and Professional Development; 2) Literacy Enrichment and Assessment; 3) Classroom Management and; 4) Mentoring and Personal Development.
During the first grant cycle, the Foundation awarded $32,500 to public schools for the implementation of high-impact, academic-based initiatives. 2012 Grants were awarded to the following:
1. St. Croix Educational Complex – $10,000 for ‘Model Schools Site Visits’ and for their ‘Implement Literacy: Reading Interventions Program Evaluation.’
2. John H. Woodson Junior High School – $7,500 for a ‘Group Reading for Students’ Initiative and for implementing a comprehensive Classroom Management program.
3. Elena Christian Junior High School – $7,500 for a Literacy Program, entitled “Speak Up and Listen” in addition to a “St. Croix Youths Doing Something Positive” mentoring program.
4. Evelyn Williams Elementary School – $2,500 for their Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports (PBIS) Program.
5. Department of Education – $5,000 for the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) Program to cover the cost of UVI student tutors for the Program.
The St. Croix Foundation’s STE Grant Review Committee has established a phased grant disbursement schedule which seeks to ensure that schools stay focused in meeting self-identified programmatic goals and timelines. In demonstration of their commitment to each school’s success, the Foundation will provide financial support throughout the duration of the project, with the hope that successful initiatives will serve as models for other schools in the future.
According to St. Croix Foundation, Chief Operations Officer, Deanna James, “the Foundation is deeply committed to supporting innovative and collaborative educational projects. In these challenging economic times, our organization is acutely aware of how critical the funding provided through our grants is for our schools and for community organizations.”
The Foundation wishes to invite corporate citizens and individual donors in the community to join them in pooling charitable resources together so that we can collectively support more high-impact educational opportunities for our students and our schools. The ultimate goal of the Foundation’s Sprint To Excellence Grant Program is to provide larger grants to schools in order to support best practices and rapid innovations which can, in turn, foster the Foundation’s vision of large-scale educational transformation throughout the Territory. Grant Deadline is May 15, 2014.
For more information on the Sprint To Excellence Grant program or to donate to this funds, please call the St. Croix Foundation at 773-9898.
Together, We Can Make A Difference!