You’ve been working hard all summer long with the curriculum team, devising a master plan to raise the school’s academic achievement level. Your students’ test scores have been abysmal and getting worse, and you are determined to fix this issue as the new school year kicks off. Does this situation sound familiar to you? It may be time to try something new! A great way to begin is to create an after school project-based learning program for students of all ages and backgrounds. I recommend introducing the program to one grade at first, and then opening it up to other grade levels as you document your success along the way.
Let’s take a look at some successful grant funded programs for after school activity:
TeenQuest is a free afterschool pre-employment and leadership training program, designed to teach Genesee County teens important skills needed to help highlight students’ skills to employers. For teens 14-18 years old, currently in grades 9-12, the program is a life changing opportunity to learn the tools of success. If teens complete TeenQuest, they are eligible to take part in the Summer Youth Job Fair. Other opportunities may be available through area employers during the school year to teens who complete the program.
A grant program like this sets the foundation for other programs you can develop to target your academic achievement goals. Although it is focused on the Flint Michigan area, check out the states section of our Grants Database to see if there are foundations and corporations that might step in and help you create your own project.
Philanthropic Ventures Foundation
Philanthropic Ventures Foundation has funded a variety of after school ventures. My favorite is the Girls Robotic Club, because girls are historically underrepresented in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math fields. Northstar Academy’s Robotics Club empowers young girls and fosters a passion for STEM learning. Club advisor Pam Keller, stated that each year the girls gain confidence in themselves and their abilities to participate in a traditionally male-dominated field. PVF has funded the all-girls Robotics Club at North Star Academy, a middle school in Redwood City, since 2009 through its After School Grant Program.
Westinghouse Nuclear will be accepting applications for their N-Visioning a Brighter Future Grant program through October, 2015. Three schools will be awarded $1,000 to complete their project by the end of the school year, plus an additional $2,000 for the school’s science department needs, for a total of $3,000. Any creative hands-on STEM project at a US elementary, middle or high school is considered.
Preferred Projects:
- involve students directly
- incorporate community resources and
- include interdisciplinary or team-teaching strategies.
So, it’s time to get working, the key is to plan ahead and start forging relationships with business leaders in your own backyard. These are the committed folks who have a vested interest in your kids; they’ll be hiring them some day.
A few resources for your review:
Let me know how you’re doing with your after school projects, we’d love to feature them in our site.
About the Author: 
Neva Fenno, M.S.Ed., MLIS, has been a special education teacher, school library media specialist, curriculum specialist and grants manager for several urban school districts in New York and Massachusetts for 30 years. As grants manager for 7 years, she managed up to $28,000,000 a year in federal, state, foundation and corporate grants from application through fiscal administration. She has hundreds of stories to tell, not all successes, but from each story there is a lesson to be learned.
