Schreier_Grant Proposal

Rose Schreier LIS725 Urban Garden Grant Proposal Need Mozart Elementary School is a vibrant, close-knit inner-city urban elementary school in Chicago serving grades K-6 whose 865 students generally lack financial or geographic access to fresh produce. Therefore, Mozart Elementary School is a prime candidate for creating and maintaining a vegetable garden. This grant would allow the school to acquire the materials to start a vegetable garden and incorporate various curricular, wellness and character-building elements in order to promote a healthy lifestyle and gain an authentic and valuable learning experience. Impact/Skills Addressed According to the Illinois Interactive Report Card (http://iirc.niu.edu), 98% of Mozarts 865 pupils are lowincome, bilingual, as well as minority: 92% of students are Hispanic, 6% are Black, and 1% is White. Furthermore, given the urban neighborhood in which the school is located, a lack of green space is the norm. As is outlined above and in the continuing sections, there are a multitude of benefits to this project: Engages the whole school learning community Incorporates authentic assessment & shares key information learned with others Promotes a healthy lifestyle Promotes cooperation & leadership Promotes sustainable gardening principles (green recycling, eventual natural fertilizer use) Demonstrates proactive planning Undertakes additional activities (curricular tie-ins, green recycling, school visit/field day) According to the National Gardening Association, which provides material assistance to youth and community gardens programs, data compiled from the most recent round of 215 grant recipients reveals the following (http://www.kidsgardening.com/grants/2010-evaluation-summary.asp): over 80% noticed improvements in participants environmental attitudes, community spirit, volunteerism, self confidence, nutritional attitudes, social skills, leadership skills and attitude towards school. There were also a marked uptick (>50%) in participants motor skills and scholastic achievement. Significantly, nearly a third of recent grant recipients also noticed decrease in disciplinary actions, as well as improved attendance rates and test scores. These are important factors to consider given Mozarts urban location and failure to make Adequate Yearly Progress. Design Mozarts pupils are not making adequate yearly progress (AYP) in Reading. As such, as an engaging curricular foundation to the vegetable garden, students in 5th and 6th grade will read and discuss the Paul Fleischman novel Seedfolks, which tells the story of a multi-ethnic community that gradually comes together to transform an abandoned urban lot into a community garden after the pioneering efforts of a grade-school girl. This is an appropriate book in terms of its length and lexile level for both accomplished and struggling readers, and due to its direct link to the garden, reading Seedfolks functions as an authentic activity for students. Common Core Literature Standards addressed: Key Ideas and Details
5.2. Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, including how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text. 5. 3. Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., how characters interact).

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Craft and Structure

5.5. Explain how a series of chapters, scenes, or stanzas fits together to provide the overall structure of a particular story, drama, or poem. 5.6. Describe how a narrators or speakers point of view influences how events are described.

Evaluation Topics for both qualitative and quantitative assessment include the following: Did students consume more produce at home as a result of their involvement in the garden? Did students preference for produce increase as a result of their involvement in the garden project? Were there any improved educational outcomes associated with the inclusion of the gardening and nutrition in the curriculum? Were there any improved health/wellness outcomes associated with the inclusion of the gardening and nutrition in the curriculum? Management Plan The care and maintenance of the vegetable garden will primarily be focused in the upper grades (5th and 6th), though through a school community outreach effort, younger grades will be provided with differentiated instruction as to how they can assist with garden-related tasks. The vegetable garden will tie in with two units in the upper grades: one on health and wellness (incorporating healthy eating habits) as well as one on character-building (incorporating the novel Seedfolks). The raised garden beds will be situated in an enclosed and secured courtyard area on the premises; either maintenance crew or a Home Depot liaison, should one be available, will build the beds. Construction on the garden will begin in the spring to coincide with the proper planting cycles of the produce, and comprise the majority of the spring trimester. The produce generated from the garden may be used by the school to provide healthier lunches, sold to raise funds for future school projects and items, or taken home by students to share with their families. Seed packets will be kept in science classrooms for related investigation, and copies of Seedfolks will be distributed during Language Arts class. Additional copies, as well as the audio version, will be kept in the library media center. Personnel Though the focus of the garden is centered in the upper grades of the school, it is an opportunity for the entire school learning community to become involved, including younger students and parents/family members of students, particularly those with previous gardening experience. The project will be spearheaded by the science and language arts departments, along with the library media specialist. Maintenance crew will provide general site assistance as needed, including the storage of garden tools and supplies. Promotion In a related awareness-raising campaign, green recycling containers will placed next to every general waste bin to help the whole school to help everyone understand and adopt the changes. Students in the art club will also help to create promotional flyers and billboards to be placed around the school encouraging volunteering in the garden as well as the consumption of fresh produce.The initiative will also be announced at PTO and board meetings in order to inform the local community and promote general awareness. A press release will also be sent to local English- and Spanish-language newspapers. Additionally, Mozart will invite students from nearby schools to visit their vegetable garden in order to demonstrate their learning as well as to consider ways in which the schools may collaborate to expand on the initial garden. Sustainability To facilitate ongoing care of the garden, Mozart will establish a garden club team led by upper-grade students who explicitly commit to regular volunteer hours throughout the year and summer, though they may bring

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friends or family members along to assist them. Faculty and staff members may also volunteer to spearhead the club on a rotating basis, though there will be at least one faculty member supervising the group at all times. In addition, families will be encouraged to support the care of the school garden by starting their own gardens. The science and reading staff along with the library media specialist will develop a toolkit providing instructions on how to establish and maintain both the school and at-home garden.

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Press Release: English Mozart Elementary School is the most recent recipient of a 2011 Youth Garden Grant, sponsored by Home Depot. The $1000 grant provides students with the opportunity to establish and maintain an on-site vegetable garden, with the goal of improving nutritional habits and enhancing character-building and cooperation skills. Students in the upper grades will also receive copies of the novel Seedfolks as an educational tie-in to the initiative. This is the schools inaugural project of the kind, and family and community members are encouraged to support the garden; please contact the School Office at (312) 534-4160 to learn how to contribute.

Press Release: Spanish La escuela primaria Mozart gan recientemente el 2011 Youth Garden Grant, una beca acadmica patrocinado por el Home Depot. Esta beca vale $1000 y les provee a los estudiantes la oportunidad de establecer y mantener un huerto en el sitio escolar. El proyecto tiene las metas de mejorar la salud, aumentar el carcter y enriquecer la destreza de cooperacin. Los estudiantes mayores recibirn adems copas del libro Seedfolks para establecer un enlace al plan de studios. Esto es el primer proyecto as para Mozart, y se animan familias y miembros de la comunidad apoyar el huerto; favor de llamar a la Oficina Escolar al (312) 534-4160 para averiguar cmo contribuir.

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Budget for Urban Garden @ Mozart Elementary

Material Unit Cost Total Cost (rounded) Source

Curricular Supplies

Seedfolks (PB) Seedfolks (PB), Spanish Seedfolks, unabridged audiobook Subtotal

150 @ $2.25 50 @ $7.99 2 @ 24.95

$338 $400 $50 $788

Amazon Amazon Follett

Garden Supplies

6-foot-long Redwood or Cedar 4-by-4 8-foot-long Redwood or Cedar 2-by-6 10-foot-long 1-inch PVC pipe 10-foot-long -inch PVC pipe 4- by 10-foot roll of -inch-mesh hardware cloth 1-inch galvanized tube straps (semicircular brackets) 128 cubic feet planting mix Seed packets Subtotal Total Source: Amazon.com, Follett.com, Sunset.com The total estimated project cost is $1400.

4 @ $15 24 @ 12.50 4 @ $3 8 @ $3 4 @ $15 32 @ $0.45

$60 $300 $12 $24 $60 $15 $100

Home Depot Home Depot Home Depot Home Depot Home Depot Home Depot Home Depot Home Depot

20 @ $2.00

$40 $611 $1399

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Local Contribution/Collaboration Budget Contributor Amount Curricular Supplies Mozart ES PTO $300 General educational/book purchase Book purchase Spanish-language book purchase Purpose

CPS literacy outreach group Padres Unidos civic organization Subtotal

$150 $75 $550 Garden Supplies

Logan Square Target

$75

Mini-grant for rain barrels and assorted garden tools

Subtotal Total
Source: Fictitious data

$75 $635