Beyond Candy Bars and Pizza Kits

San Luis, Arizona, math teacher Jesus Arrizon wouldn't have considered writing a proposal until his district grants coordinator encouraged him and offered to help him apply for a grant for his program for high-risk middle school students. Coordinators can also be invaluable when it comes to carving out the time to tackle a grant proposal. Arrizon was worried that lack of time would be an issue, but "at the end of [the first grant process] I said, 'Okay, I'm not going to let these opportunities go by,'" he says.

And the help doesn't have to come from someone who's on the district payroll. When Beth Swantz, a fourth-grade teacher in Kalona, Iowa, was trying for a technology grant recently, she asked her husband-who is neither a teacher nor a techie-to read it and see if it made sense to him. Fresh eyes can scan your proposal for embarrassing typos or grammatical errors.

ON THE WEB

Turn Cache into Cash

Typing "education grants" into Google yields well over a million hits. But never fear. We've compiled some helpful sites for education grants or tips on landing them.

www.neafoundation.org/grants.htm-NEA annually awards about $2.3 million in grants. Get deadlines and sample grant packages here.

http://e-grants.ed.gov/egHome.asp-The feds' site requires registration, but it's free and simple (we promise), and it includes a helpful, personalized system for tracking your application package.

www.fundservices.com/searchresult.php?sbcat_id=6-A vast collection of links to public and corporate grants for education programs.

www.learningis4everyone.org/content/category/1/47/2/-A roundup of grants from such groups as Nickelodeon television network, Best Buy, and the U.S. Senate.

www.k12grants.org/newsletter.htm-A helpful resource for grant novices. The bimonthly e-newsletter is free.

http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/business/ grants.html-A listing of sites to help you find grants for everything from math and science to reading and libraries.

www.teachers.net/archive/grants.html-A no-frills site, but it clearly lays out the basics for writing each portion of a grant. Extra goodies include a sample cover letter and an exhaustive list of resources.

Teachers from tiny Kalona Elementary aren't afraid to hunt down big money.

What is it about the tiny school of 250 students perched in rural Kalona, Iowa, (population, 2,293) that makes people want to give it so much money? In the past year, teachers at Kalona Elementary snagged nearly three-quarters of a million dollars in grants.

Fourth-grade teacher Beth Swantz and media specialist Phyllis Casper got a $25,000 grant from the state and a $5,000 grant from the NEA Foundation to teach students oral history skills through podcasting. Gym teacher Jackie Bailey and guidance counselor Nora Kehoe earned 510,000 from the state for a program to get students eating a "mystery vegetable or fruit" every Friday and to outfit every student with custom-fitted bike helmets. Colleague Suzie Swartzendruber, a Title I reading and math and ESL teacher, landed the biggest fish of all: $600,000 in federal grant money for a three-year program teaching Arabic to all students at Kalona and a neighboring elementary school. "It's very, very unusual," acknowledges Swantz, who is proud of the staff's prowess.

It starts with educators' desire to innovate, to stretch the limits of required curriculum even if it means doing the legwork to fund the extras. 'Teachers like me are saying, "What else can I do because I'm tired of all the textbook rigamarole,'" Swantz says. "With all the testing...I had given up almost all the fun things about teaching." She brought the fun back with a plan to get money for iPods and microphones for her students to record interviews that would ultimately become oral history podcasts (Swantz made sure her idea aligned with state standards).

A supportive administration is crucial, Kalona's teachers say. Their former principal encouraged those who were interested to seek grant opportunities to enhance required lessons, Swantz says. Colleagues can provide invaluable feedback, too, says Swartzendruber. "If I have an idea and take it to my administrators, if it sounds lousy, they'll let me know."

Going for a grant isn't limited to teachers of core subjects, says Bailey. "I knew that there are quite a number of PE grants. My problem is just finding the time to sit down and write it and know what I'm doing7." When she feels unsure, Bailey taps her fellow teachers who have more experience with grants. "We have such a community spirit here that if someone finds out about a grant, they share the information."

Suzie Swartzendruber, Beth Swantz, and Phyllis Casper have uncanny success when it comes to earning grant money.