Grants.

The mission of the East Lyme Education Foundation is to foster a love of student learning through programs focused on excellence, innovation, and creativity. The Foundation will invest its fundraising dollars in grants for visionary educators whose projects enhance student learning opportunities.

We recommend the proposal include the following:

● Student learning objectives and/or improved teaching practices 

● Alignment with the curriculum

● Processes for evaluating student growth and demonstrating project success

● Ability to be sustained beyond the grant period 

● Potential to be replicated by other teachers

● A clear, itemized budget 

In this initial year of the Foundation, the 2024-2025 school year, the grant process will be open to all members of the East Lyme teaching staff in early spring 2025. The Foundation Grant Application will be completed and submitted digitally in the Grant section of the website. The Foundation will provide teachers with grant criteria and a detailed evaluation rubric.

In spring 2025, the Foundation will award Mini-Grants ranging from $500 to $1,500, which will focus on individual classroom projects. Grant recipients will be announced in May. Funds will be made available before the end of the 2024-2025 school year, allowing projects to begin in the fall of 2025. It is expected that projects will be completed by the end of the 2025-2026 school year, and that teachers share the results and outcomes of the project with the Grant Committee.

As the East Lyme Education Foundation grows, we hope to award grants twice per year with the fall grants being implemented in the spring of the current school year and the spring grants being implemented in the fall of the subsequent school year.  We would also like to offer larger grants that will focus on group projects by grade level, middle school kiva or subject area department to have an even greater impact on our students.