K-12 Technology Resilience Initiative Closes Education Gap Between Schools and Students

November 2020: K-12 Technology Resilience Initiative Closes Education Gap Between Schools and Students

A new grants program gave local K-12 public schools access to funding to meet their connectivity, equipment, software, and people needs as they continued virtual and hybrid instruction in the 2020- 2021 school year.

The K-12 Technology Resilience Initiative was a three-phase technology grant program available to Delaware County public schools serving grades K-12.

The first and third phases were funded and supported by the Funders Forum Collaborative, a group of local funders who participate in shared learning and collaborative grantmaking related to community needs. The first phase provided $2,000 grants proactively to each of eight K-12 public schools as a form of initial support as they prepared to adjust and expand their technology plans to be more resilient during the pandemic.

Jaiden Simmons

During phase two, the Board of Directors of the Foundation directed $30,000 from the Foundation’s strategic grantmaking program to support the initiative. More than $13,000 was also raised from individual donors. School districts were asked to apply in this phase for their technology needs. The Foundation encouraged them to dream big when sharing their needs and asked that schools provide a scaled budget to accomplish their goals with a future phase of funding in mind. Requests ranged from thousands of dollars to millions. Based on these applications, grants from $5,000 to $8,000 were awarded to each school for specific technology needs.

In the final phase, The Community Foundation again worked with other local community funders from the Funders Forum Collaborative and individual donors to raise $182,000. Each school was once again provided additional funding to meet their technology needs. Third-phase grants ranged from $10,000 to $37,776. The grants supported student connectivity, provided up-to-date equipment and hardware, gave software and curriculum access, and ensured teachers had the training needed to extend learning across platforms.

Scholarship Committee member Rateira Dodds-Simmons spent time supporting her son, Jaiden, during virtual learning at Yorktown Elementary School.

EDUCATION GRANTS AWARDED: $241,000 over three phases to eight K-12 public schools

TOP REQUESTS

1. Connectivity

2. Equipment

3. Software

4. People Resources (Including Training)