| Item Title: | Acceptance of First 5 Planning Grant Award (Jetté) | | Agenda Title: | Acceptance of First 5 Planning Grant Award (Jetté) | | Background: | SBUSD was awarded an Early Learning Planning (ELP) grant from First 5 of California in the amount of $75,000.00. The purpose of this grant is to provide a proof of concept by creating an aligned STEAM and Outdoor Education curriculum that will serve to both increase the percentage of kindergarten students entering the K-12 system as “ready” and to increase the percentage of 3rd grade students achieving at or above standard on state testing. The design will augment the work that has already begun at Harding University Partnership School. The existing Harding project is a result of donations from SBEF and Exxon Mobile and existing Bond Funds with the intent of eventually transforming two outdoor spaces into vibrant three-dimensional hands-on learning environments. The bulk of the First 5 ELP grant will be used to fund a contractor/consultant who will work as a collaborative advisor with Harding’s STEAM teacher as well as Harding’s ECE team to create an aligned PK - 3rd grade STEAM and Outdoor Learning curriculum. This first year, our collaboration will focus on identifying a curricular framework that can be applied at any SBUSD elementary school, with or without a STEAM Lab or an outdoor learning space. As all SBUSD schools have the base level resources: an art space, an outdoor space, and capable teachers, we intend this to be replicable district wide. The intention of the ELP grant is to roll into an additional implementation grant from First 5 for the following three consecutive years at a minimum of $100,000.00 a year. The contractor will be paid $80.00/hr and will not exceed $55,750.00 for the year which is funded through the grant. His role will be to provide professional development and to assist in collaborative curricular design with the intent of aligning existing NGSS standards district curriculum. In addition, the team will work with the Kindergarten Readiness Network to align existing PK Outdoor Education curriculum for PK students from outside of the district to flow into our K-12 system. | | Recommendation: | Staff recommends the board accept the attached First 5 Planning Grant Award. | | Resource Person: | Meg Jetté, Asst. Supt. of Business Services | | Fiscal Impact: | | | Funding Source: | |
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