Innovation Zone Application Tips WVDE Office of School Improvement Contact Person: Shelly DeBerry, Student Success Advocate

Overview of Session Purpose of this PowerPoint is to review the major components of Innovation Zone grants including: creating a vision using data goals and objectives meaningful partnerships scalability sustainability evaluations

Overview of Innovation Zones Piedmont Elementary (Kanawha County) This Innovation Zone emphasizes personalized education plans for all students, authentic narrative reporting of skill mastery to parents, project based learning, interdisciplinary connectedness and integrated content technology. Project based learning will monopolize the daily integration among content areas. This flexibility of curriculum design will make instruction relevant and seamless and allow students to see connectedness of learning.

Putnam County LINK Crew The Link Crew program orients freshmen to the high school experience. WINFIELD -- Putnam County students have completed one week of school. For some, it's been a new experience. Beth Billups is in her first year at Winfield High. To help get used to high school, she and the rest of the freshman class are teamed with an upper classman through a program called Link Crew. Link Crew members show the freshman the ins and outs of high school, helping them feel at home at their new school. When I had trouble finding my classes, I would have to go and find them and they would point me in the direction to go. They told me not to worry about anything, said Billups. Organizers say the program helps reduce drop-out rates and incidents of bullying in schools.

Creating a Vision For the Project

Create a mental image of your school 3 – 5 years from now, or how do you help others create a mental image?

Ask the Question? What is the vision for our school/district for the future?

What are the primary challenges you will face if you design a plan to move your school toward that vision in the coming year?

USING DATA

Ask the Questions? 1.What other data would support the need for your project? 2.What stakeholders need to be involved in gathering data? 3.How would you share this data with others?

GOALS Where do we want to go? How do we plan to get there?

Goal Statements Samples Goal #1 To increase graduation rates. Objective: To use graduation coaches for at risk students. Goal #2 To raise the graduation rate by 2% each year for the next three years. Objective: To implement an advisor-advisee program.

Goal and Objective Sample Goal #3 To raise the graduation rate of students with disabilities by 2% each year for the next three years. Objective: Identify students with disabilities who have high risk predictors of attendance, behavior or course failure and assign a teacher mentor to guide the student to graduation.

Clear goals with measureable objectives are extremely important. It must be clear what you plan to do and how you plan to do it. Charts are often helpful to make it clearer. Tips for Writing Goals

What is Innovation?

Ask the Question? How will the current structure of the school, support the innovation zone project? (i.e., scheduling practices, staffing patterns, calendars, curriculum, instructional interventions and allocation of resources). If not, what changes need to occur?

Tips for Writing an Innovative Project Articulate in your application what will be different as a result of the project. What are you doing that is new and different, not just trying to fund an existing project? How will this project change things for the future not just short term?

Tip The project needs to be systemic in nature. Not for just a small portion of students but how will it put in place a system that stays in place.

Meaningful Partnerships What does that look like? Why is this a major component of the grant?

Tips for Creating & Documenting Meaningful Relationships Use the Community Dialogue to Action Guides Create MOUs Share data with everyone

Scalability Provide a testing ground for innovative graduation programs, incentives and approaches to reducing the number of dropouts. Provide information regarding the effects of specific innovations, collaborations and policies on graduation rates and dropout prevention and recovery. Document educational strategies that increase graduation rates, prevent dropouts and enhance student success.

Think about ways your application can show how the project can be scaled or duplicated by others?

Tip Document a timeline of events and who was responsible for each activity.

Sustainability 1.Keeping the project alive. 2.What happens when the money runs out? Does the project go away? 3.What are some things to consider when addressing how to sustain a project?

Evaluation Tip Use the logic model template if you are unsure how to write up a good evaluation

Review of Tips 1.Clear goals with measureable objectives are extremely important. 2.It must be clear what you plan to do and how you plan to do it. 3.Charts are often helpful to make it clearer. 4.Articulate in your application what will be different as a result of the project. 5.What are you doing that is new and different, not just trying to fund an existing project? 6.How will this project change things for the future not just short term?

7.The project needs to be systemic in nature. 8.Not for just a small portion of students but how will it put in place a system that stays in place. 9.Document a timeline of events and who was responsible. 10. Be sure to have ideas about how to sustain the project. 11. You may want to use the logic model template if you are unsure how to write up a good evaluation. 12. Seek technical assistance if needed and have several reviewers look at the application before submitting it. 13. Follow all of the application guidelines.

The WVDE Office of School Improvement is available for technical assistance throughout the grant writing period. To make arrangements for assistance via conference call please contact: Shelly DeBerry ext Grant application deadline is no later than 4:00 p.m., Dec. 1, 2011 via .