Spring 2014 Insight Company News and Notes
The Insight Team has been busy on a number of projects to start 2014. We hope the year has started off well for you. Here are some notes on current items our team has been working on.
- We’ve been making an effort to highlight featured grant opportunities on the Insight blog. While the focus of the grants is often based around physical education, we will also be featuring and discussing a wide variety of grants that cover other industries and topics as well. We also offer some very helpful sources for finding grant opportunities online at our Find Grants page. If you are in the early stages of looking for grant opportunities, that is definitely a good place to start. To stay up to date with the ongoing opportunities we feature, you can subscribe to our blog via email or follow Insight Grants on twitter.
- We’ve recently completed multiple grant proposals as well as editing for various clients. Project topics have varied from physical activity to fire departments. Although we can’t share details on these projects yet, we look forward to talking about some of the innovative and exciting projects if funding is awarded.
- Working on applications for the Carol M. White PEP grant program is usually a big spring project for the Insight Team. With no new PEP competition in 2014, it’s important for those interested in physical activity funding to watch for other opportunities and maximize the time they have before the next competition (anticipated 2015). For more information, see our blog post titled, No 2014 PEP Competition?! What Do We Do Now? Applicants from 2013 that scored highly but did not win may be awarded PEP grants in 2014. We’ve started hearing about the first winners TODAY (4/8/2014), as some members of Congress have begun contacting winners in their constituencies. If you’ve won, you may or may not hear directly from Congress, but you WILL eventually hear directly from ED via email and/or mail and you would be listed on the awards list which should surface soon.
- Speaking of PEP, although there is no guarantee of a 2015 PEP competition, we do anticipate one. We’ve already begun signing up and working with applicants interested in applying in 2015. With the competition becoming more and more competitive each year, it helps to get some pieces of your project in order far in advance, and an early start makes this more achievable. If you are interested in working with us for your PEP Grant project, contact us.
- We’re working with various PEP Grant winners to evaluate their ongoing projects. It is amazing to see the hard work of the project directors, school staff, and community stakeholders pay off with students improving fitness levels, nutrition habits, and education. We’ve featured aspects from Kenston Schools in Ohio and the Police Athletic League in NYC, and look forward to sharing more good news from PEP projects in the future.
- We’ve been working with our long-time partner Polar to create some exciting new web resources for grant seekers interested in including Polar products and services in their grant projects! We’ll be posting more on those soon.
- We are currently working with several schools on US ED Elementary and Secondary School Counseling grant applications due 4/28/2014.
- We have begun promoting three exciting US ED grant programs that are expected to open competitions within the month: School Climate Transformations grants for LEAs (school safety), Project Prevent (school safety), and Full Service Community Schools (covers MANY topic areas).
If you’d like us to assist you with your grant application or project evaluation, please contact us.
2014 Elementary and Secondary School Counseling grants: Open Now, Due April 28th!
The US Department of Education’s (ED) Elementary and Secondary School Counseling grants are now open! This program funds school counseling programs, just as the name indicates. Applicants may propose projects for new or expanded existing programs. The most competitive projects will be those: demonstrating the most significant need for counseling services, evidencing the most innovative and likely-to-be-successful approaches, and with significant potential for replication in other schools.
We’re providing basic information about the grant program on this site. For complete details, visit the official ED website for the program.
Program Overview: The ED program site states, “Projects should: (1) use a developmental, preventive approach, (2) expand the inventory of effective counseling programs, (3) include in-service training, and (4) involve parents and community groups.”
Additionally, the RFP states on pages 13 and 14 (underlining added): “Each program funded under this section shall–
(A) be comprehensive in addressing the counseling and educational needs of all students; (B) use a developmental, preventive approach to counseling; (C) increase the range, availability, quantity, and quality of counseling services in the elementary schools and secondary schools of the local educational agency; (D) expand counseling services through qualified school counselors, school social workers, school psychologists, other qualified psychologists, or child and adolescent psychiatrists; (E) use innovative approaches to increase children’s understanding of peer and family relationships, work and self, decision making, or academic and career planning, or to improve peer interaction; (F) provide counseling services in settings that meet the range of student needs; (G) include in-service training appropriate to the activities funded under this Act for teachers, instructional staff, and appropriate school personnel, including in-service training in appropriate identification and early intervention techniques by school counselors, school social workers, school psychologists, other qualified psychologists, and child and adolescent psychiatrists; (H) involve parents of participating students in the design, implementation, and evaluation of the counseling program; (I) involve community groups, social service agencies, or other public or private entities in collaborative efforts to enhance the program and promote school-linked integration of services; (J) evaluate annually the effectiveness and outcomes of the counseling services and activities assisted under this section; (K) ensure a team approach to school counseling in the schools served by the local educational agency by working toward ratios recommended by the American School Health Association of 1 school counselor to 250 students, 1 school social worker to 800 students, and 1 school psychologist to 1,000 students; and (L) ensure that school counselors, school psychologists, other qualified psychologists, school social workers, or child and adolescent psychiatrists paid from funds made available under this section spend a majority of their time counseling students or in other activities directly related to the counseling process.”
Award: Awards can be for up $400,000 per year for up to three years.
Who Can Apply? Local Educational Agencies (LEAs–school districts) and charter schools considered LEAs by their states are eligible to apply.
When is the Deadline? Applications are due by 4:30 Washington DC time on 4/28/2014 and must be submitted through grants.gov.
Something Cool or Unique About this Program: Five technical assistance calls will be offered by ED for potential applicants: 3/27/2014 3pm; 4/3/2014 10am; 4/3/2014 3pm; 4/10/2014 10am; and 4/10/2014 3pm. All times are Washington, DC time. Go to the program’s Applicant webpage and scroll down for login and dial-in information for each call.
Where Can I Get More Information? More information can be found at www2.ed.gov/programs/elseccounseling/applicant.html. Questions my be directed to Competition Managers:
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Lisa Harrison at Lisa.Harrison@ed.gov or (202) 453-6730
- Loretta McDaniel at Loretta.McDaniel@ed.gov or (202) 453-6720
If you’d like to apply for this grant and you need assistance, please email us at info@insightgrants.com.
Good luck to all applicants!
