Overall points for this section should consider the organization’s capacity to take on the proposed project. There will be an opportunity to consider the other demographic and number of participants in future sections.
SECTION II: PROJECT DESCRIPTION (13 POINTS TOTAL)
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Application Question
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Grantee Response
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Pts. Possible
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Pts. Awarded
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Reviewer Notes
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Describe the need your project will address
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In the U.S. there is a pervasive belief that science, technology, engineering, and math classes are "hard" and, therefore, too difficult for the average person. We have even reached a point where it is considered "okay" to avoid taking such classes -- even if one is in college to become a teacher. Many young children of color do not receive adequate exposure to STEM content because their teachers do not feel comfortable or confident teaching those topics. This results in a self-perpetuating cycle where teachers do not teach it, children do not learn it, and those children grow into adults who do not teach STEM to yet another generation of children. This cycle not only impacts what happens in our early childhood education classrooms, it also impacts the future academic success of children of color and the ability of communities of color to obtain careers in STEM professions, professions where they continue to be underrepresented.
Approximately 75% of children at the three focus sites of our project are children of color. A similar percentage of families are of low income. Our project is centered in communities where there is historic struggle for equity and access.
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5
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|
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Describe the project for which you are requesting funds, and explain how your project addresses the need described above
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The "Culture of STEM" Project wlll capitalize on the talents of two cutting edge early childhood organizations: The Praxis Institute for ECE and the eMODE Foundation. Together we will partner with three venerable early learning centers to provide a three-pronged, steeped in STEM, professional development initiative. The three centers are The Early Childhood Education Program at South Shore K-8 Elementary School, Seeds of Life Early Learning Center, and Genesee Early Learning Center all of which are situated in low income and highly diverse communities. We will: offer direct workshop trainings in math and science to teachers and parents; conduct real time in-classroom demonstration modules as direct work with children; and model reflective practice at debrief meetings based on observations, coaching, and site specific input.
The core mission of the project is to inspire, and facilitate a culture of STEM within our site communities. Additionally we will deliberately and conscientiously honor and herald the "funds of knowledge" about these disciplines that live within these cultural communities. Such attention to equity and cultural responsiveness recognizes linguistic diversity as a strength of families and children. A culture of STEM signifies multiple experiences with number and geometry, with the natural world and kitchen science, with developmentally appropriate tools such as the abacus, and with constant inquiry into how things work -- from incline planes to machines that can be taken apart. Rather than a series of disconnected activities, our project is a way of looking at children's work and play as STEM embedded that can be unpacked for integrated STEM components. Games and play will be central to workshops and demonstrations. Facilitators will model attaching the language of science and math to real time interaction with children and utilizing observation to conjecture about children's thinking and problem solving. Workshops, coaching and reflection will be recursive. A central component is direct presence in the classroom in the form of demonstration activities/centers which offer teachers the opportunity to step back and observe. This prong is also one of coaching, in which eMODE personnel dialogue with classroom teachers about the math/science talk that does and could occur. This in-classroom initiative consistently revolves around the mantra of "multiple experiences with number" reflecting a learning theory that children become bootstrapped into conceptual numeracy by the richness of the environment and the language they hear.
A second level of project work will be the extensive offerings of in-service workshop presentations scheduled with parents and teachers. The blueprints for these meetings will be the presentations that are part of the eMODE and Praxis-ECE existing repertoire. In the spirit of collaboration, each workshop will be an outcome of input from the sites regarding hopes, expectations, and needs.
The third leg of the "A Culture of STEM" project is a series of reflection meetings held with parents and staff of the three sites, organized and facilitated by Praxis-ECE. Stories from demonstration modules and coaching exchanges will provide the grist for deep conversations about doing STEM in a rigorous, and culturally relevant way.
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5
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|
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How many children will be served by this project?
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140
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3*
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|
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How many parents will be served by this project?
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115
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How many childcare professional will be served by this project?
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30
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Project Description Total Points
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13
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|
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*Consideration for score should be based on the total number of participants—children, parents and child care. Projects may support one or all three audiences.
SECTION III: IMPLEMENTATION (35 TOTAL POINTS)
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Application Question
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Grantee Response
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Pts. Possible
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Pts. Awarded
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Reviewer Notes
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Please describe any specified STEM and Early Learning skills that the current staff, families, board, organization, and/or community might bring to this project.
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We have in common a deep understanding of child development and how child development is shaped by culture, language, ethnicity, gender, and ability.
We are skilled at teaching adults in a variety of settings: workshops and seminars; in 2 and 4 year college classes, some in master's programs; as field supervisors, mentors and coaches in the classrooms of young children; as parent educators -- always through the lens of social justice and equity.
We value the art and science of rigorous observation, utilizing multiple tools, and modifying the environment and planning lessons based on those observations of children during play.
We value and build upon emergent STEM embedded in children's explorations and discoveries in a carefully planned environment that includes thoughtful provocations.
Some of us are skilled at threading science and math throughout the early learning curriculum, and have generated developmentally appropriate tools and materials to share with teachers.
Some of us are published authors of books about leadership in education, and anti-bias approaches with young children. Two of us hold doctorate degrees and one is pursuing a doctorate in education.
Some of us are versed in DEL child care regulations; Praxis is approved to provide training and clock hours.
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10
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|
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Are you intending to hire new staff to implement this project? If so, please describe the position and hiring timeline.
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The personnel budget line allocates substantial funds as stipends to educators who are within the Praxis-ECE and eMODE network. We anticipate utilizing the expertise and talents of our organizations membership without new staff hires.
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5
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|
|
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The core partnership between Praxis-ECE and eMODE is new and inspiring. Every sign indicates this is a partnership that will be forged and grow with Thrive by Five support and beyond. In the same realm, the partnership promise with The Early Childhood Education Program at South Shore K-8 Elementary School, Genesee Early Learning Center, and Seeds of Life Early Learning Center will evolve and branch to units within those sites including parent groups and agency boards. A good example is the Genesee program which is a subsidiary of Children’s Home Society – an agency with several other centers all of which reflect the targeted demographics.
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10
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|
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What are the challenges that you anticipate in planning and implementing this proposed project?
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An anticipated challenge in planning and implementing the proposed project is coordinating the larger community functions that include staff and families of participating sites and classrooms. In order to make the project linguistically accessible to the diverse community members, translation, interpreting, and transcription will need to be coordinated throughout the project duration. Because assessment tools, permission forms and other documents will be finalized during the planning phase of the proposed project, it is difficult to accurately anticipate how many documents will need to be transcribed and what the cost for transcription will be. This impacts budget allocations.
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5
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|
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Are there any organizational priorities that may affect the outcome of this project? If so, please explain.
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Praxis-ECE and eMODE are excited about this funding opportunity especially because its thrust dovetails directly with work we are already doing. The Praxis-ECE annual symposium is entitled "Nurturing The Genius of Black Children: STEM" and is designed around workshops that draw on real world ECE experience. The mission of the eMODE Foundation is to vitalize math in communities that have been historically marginalized. This team of educators conducts math camps and after-school math groups in the most diverse of schools. eMODE also provides mentoring and coaching for several teachers at South Shore Elementary School in Seattle.Our organizational priorities mirror those of the Discoveries from the Field grant. Financial support will substantially advance scalability and sustainability.
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5
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|
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Project Implementation Total Points
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35
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|
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SECTION IV: PROJECT APPROACH (20 TOTAL POINTS)
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Application Question
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Grantee Response
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Pts. Possible
|
Pts. Awarded
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Reviewer Notes
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How will your project support Thrive’s goals to increase STEM successes for children birth to five and/or their parents/families in a culturally responsive way?
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We believe that all children come to school with culturally honed "funds of knowledge" that while not named as such are grounded in STEM theory and practice. Gathering family oral histories will reveal this to educators, and culturally significant STEM Projects can be rooted in these stories.
We have knowledge of cultural learning styles and intelligences and will use this lens to connect individual children and groups of children to meaningful STEM investigations. For example, connecting the children to the particular activities of an inventor, athlete, gardener, musician, chef or community activist, and relating those activities to STEM language and concepts.
Our mentor teachers, Norman Alston, April Krubally and Cheryl Milton, through hands on teaching and learning with children of color, children living in poverty, and children with disabilities, have developed culturally responsive strategies for delivering STEM, and will model these with classroom teachers in our project.
Classroom teachers will learn about the contributions of STEM academicians of color and thread those stories into the life of the classroom.
Skilled parent educators attached to this project will facilitate gatherings for families where particular information about STEM is provided, curiosities and inquiries responded to, and culturally informed home-school projects initiated.
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10
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|
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How does this project represent an innovative approach that is unique to the learning of children and/or families?
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Children develop many of their beliefs and perceptions based on what they see happening with the adults in their environment. Our project proposes to make learning science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) a "village" affair. Both the children and the adults in communities of color need to strengthen their knowledge of STEM content and increase their confidence in their abilities to be successful in those areas. We will create a culture of confidence and culture in learning STEM content by partnering with people of color who are experts in STEM content, working with teachers in early childhood education programs that serve children of color, and involving the children's families in the teaching and learning process. The goal is that all of the adults in the lives of young children of color will have personal responsibility and accountability for ensuring that we do not raise yet another generation of people of color who do not believe they are capable of being successful in the STEM arena.
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5
|
|
|
|
The Praxis-ECE/eMODE Foundation proposed project will utilize the expertise and collaborative resources of the applying organizations. Site directors identify staff and classrooms that are motivated and situated to apply project resources. Additionally, the proposed project will pull from the collective pool of knowledge, skills and experiences of members of the three participating early learning communities to identify, construct and enhance practical, integrated STEM learning opportunities for young children and the adults in their lives. The manner in which Praxis-ECE/eMODE facilitates the process of improving and enhancing STEM experiences and opportunities will depend on input from community members. The three participating sites include racially, ethnically, culturally, linguistically and economically diverse community members who will be asked to share their perspectives and experiences with STEM. Praxis-ECE/eMODE will use the perspectives and experiences to help members identify and share existing culturally relevant community STEM assets, and recognize inquiry processes infants, toddlers and preschoolers engage in naturally. Family STEM Nights and group trainings/workshops will include the three site communities collectively with the intent of forming a self-sustaining broader collaborative STEM community with tools to self-identify its needs and creative ways to address those needs. This process represents a community-driven approach.
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5
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|
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Project Approach Total Points
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20
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|
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SECTION V: PROJECT TIMELINE (10 TOTAL POINTS) - PLEASE REFER TO THE PROJECT TIMELINE ON THE NEXT PAGE FOR REFERENCE.
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Application Question
|
Grantee Response
|
Pts. Possible
|
Pts. Awarded
|
Reviewer Notes
|
Proposed Planning Activities
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We believe that all children come to school with culturally honed "funds of knowledge" that while not named as such are grounded in STEM theory and practice. Gathering family oral histories will reveal this to educators, and culturally significant STEM Projects can be rooted in these stories.
We have knowledge of cultural learning styles and intelligences and will use this lens to connect individual children and groups of children to meaningful STEM investigations. For example, connecting the children to the particular activities of an inventor, athlete, gardener, musician, chef or community activist, and relating those activities to STEM language and concepts.
Our mentor teachers, Norman Alston, April Krubally and Cheryl Milton, through hands on teaching and learning with children of color, children living in poverty, and children with disabilities, have developed culturally responsive strategies for delivering STEM, and will model these with classroom teachers in our project.
Classroom teachers will learn about the contributions of STEM academicians of color and thread those stories into the life of the classroom.
Skilled parent educators attached to this project will facilitate gatherings for families where particular information about STEM is provided, curiosities and inquiries responded to, and culturally informed home-school projects initiated.
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5
|
|
|
Proposed Implementation Activities
|
We believe that all children come to school with culturally honed "funds of knowledge" that while not named as such are grounded in STEM theory and practice. Gathering family oral histories will reveal this to educators, and culturally significant STEM Projects can be rooted in these stories.
We have knowledge of cultural learning styles and intelligences and will use this lens to connect individual children and groups of children to meaningful STEM investigations. For example, connecting the children to the particular activities of an inventor, athlete, gardener, musician, chef or community activist, and relating those activities to STEM language and concepts.
Our mentor teachers, Norman Alston, April Krubally and Cheryl Milton, through hands on teaching and learning with children of color, children living in poverty, and children with disabilities, have developed culturally responsive strategies for delivering STEM, and will model these with classroom teachers in our project.
Classroom teachers will learn about the contributions of STEM academicians of color and thread those stories into the life of the classroom.
Skilled parent educators attached to this project will facilitate gatherings for families where particular information about STEM is provided, curiosities and inquiries responded to, and culturally informed home-school projects initiated.
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5
|
|
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Project Timeline Total Points
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10
|
|
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