Great Rewards for Great Ideas Guidelines and Policies

 Longview ISD Foundation, Inc.
Great Rewards for Great Ideas Guidelines and Policies
 
Please read carefully before beginning your application.
 
To receive funding, teachers, counselors, librarians, and nurses must

• complete an application form.  Apply online at www.lisdfoundation.org; click on Teacher Grants Request on the menu column on the left side of the home page.  An applicant cannot save the online application through the Foundation’s website; therefore, please go to LISD Comm and find the folder titled LISD Foundation Grant.  After completing the application, cut and paste it into the online application.  Kay Ray, Foundation Executive Director, will notify each applicant by email when the Foundation has successfully received the online application.  Paper applications must be typed.
• consult with your campus principal for approval to ensure that the funds requested support the academic programs and goals of the district and the campus and are NOT the financial responsibility of the district itself.   VERY IMPORTANT!
• provide all requested information.  Incomplete, vaguely written applications will not be considered by the Grants and Scholarships Committee.  An application that does not clearly define the budget will automatically be rejected.
• demonstrate specific need(s). The project/program may reflect the school’s or department’s mission or philosophy, campus improvement plan, or district improvement plan.  Applicants are encouraged to discuss their grant idea with their campus principal and/or department head to ensure that the grant satisfies the instructional goals of the school or department.  
• present a creative and/or innovative approach to teaching.  The purpose of Great Rewards for Great Ideas is to enhance the educational experience in the classroom and is NOT solely for increasing performance on district or state mandated tests.  It is certainly not meant to provide state testing workbooks and worksheets.

 
Policies

• A clear, concise, organized plan for use of money granted with specific evaluation steps and criteria will enhance the application. 
• Correct grammar and spelling are a must.  Errors will be held against the grant writer.  Please remember that Foundation members who read the grants are community members!
• Pictures and/or other visuals of major items to be purchased are helpful and may be submitted to Kay Ray who will attach them to an online application before it goes to the Grants and Scholarships Committee.

• Grants of merit that directly benefit large numbers of students will receive preference.
• Grants of merit that share materials and/or techniques between grades or groups will receive preference.
• Grants of merit that utilize durable, reusable items will receive preference.
• Creative, innovative programs that require active student learning are preferred over commercially available packages that promote passive, rote learning.
• Proposals for new programs are preferred over repeat requests.

• A detailed itemization of all costs and materials is expected.  Clearly state the budget, listing all items or services to be purchased. Estimates are not acceptable.  Applications stating estimates only will NOT be considered by the Grants and Scholarships Committee.

• Grants will not be awarded for costs and items that may be available from other sources such as PTO/PTA, district, state, or federal funding or for items that are routinely covered in campus budgets.
• No funds will be awarded for salaries, teacher travel, or food even if it is for the culminating event of an educational project.
• The Foundation will not fund grant requests that exceed the stated dollar limit of $2,500.
• Submit the grant application to Kay Ray, Longview ISD Foundation Executive Director, by Friday, October 18, 2024.  Please send to her at the Education Support Center, 1301 E. Young Street, or send to her at Longview High School.
• Grant applications that are not funded will be kept on file for one year only.

 
Policies for Ordering Teaching Materials and Technology
(Please read carefully.)

• An applicant must order all materials from a vendor on the Region VII Vendor List or another approved cooperative agency.  Applicants may view the list at www.esc7.net or see their campus secretary for a copy and those from the other approved agencies.  Campus secretaries are familiar with the approved vendor lists.  By ordering from the approved vendors’ list, applicants receive the best prices.  You may also consult Cynthia Gates in the LISD business office at the ESC if you have a vendor question.  Mrs. Gates encourages questions so that applicants get the best pricing.

 

• The Foundation will fund projects that enhance the instructional technology provided by Longview ISD. 

 
*****VERY IMPORTANT!  Applicants who are requesting any technology, including software, computer hardware, and peripherals such as printers and multimedia LCD projectors, must consult an ITS to get pricing and product information and obtain approval for the request from the LISD Technology Services Department.  To assist the LISD Foundation, applicants should submit their applications, either paper or online, and then ask the ITS to email Kay Ray at gray@lisd.org with a copy to you to verify approval of the technology request.  This email approval will be attached to the grant application.  The Grants and Scholarships Committee WILL NOT consider an application requesting technology without the LISD Technology Services Department’s approval.    Applicants may also contact Jennifer Smith with LISD Tech Support.  She and campus ITS personnel will be happy to answer questions and assist applicants with equipment order information.
 
  
 
Policies for Grants Recipients Who Transfer to Another Campus or Grade (Please read carefully.)
 

• If a teacher, counselor, librarian, or nurse receives a grant in March 2025 when the Foundation announces this year’s recipients and is then assigned to a new campus where he or she is teaching the same grade and subject for the 2025-2026 school year, then the grant funds will move with the teacher, counselor, librarian, or nurse. 
• If a teacher, counselor, librarian or nurse receives a grant in March 2025 when the Foundation announces this year’s recipients for a specific grade and subject on a campus but is then transferred to another grade on the same campus while teaching the same subject, the grant funds will move with the teacher, counselor, librarian, or nurse only if the principal consults the Foundation’s executive director and together they decide if the materials purchased are now appropriate for the new grade.
• If a teacher, counselor, librarian, or nurse receives a grant in March 2025 when the Foundation announces this year’s recipients  and is assigned to a new campus for the 2025-2026 school year where he or she is teaching a different grade and subject from what the grant was approved for, then the grant will not move with the grant recipient but will remain with the campus under a new grant administrator as designated by the principal.  If the materials are not used at that campus, the funds will be returned to the Foundation.  Since materials/programs purchased before the current grant cycle have more than likely been incorporated into the teaching at a specific grade level or subject, the materials/program will remain with that campus even though the grant recipient has been moved to another campus.

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