Click here to read a story about this investment in the Daily Camera (paywall).
In September, we opened our Academic Opportunity Fund to provide grants to Boulder Valley School District educators and administrators to meet student needs on an individual, school or district-wide basis. We are proud to share that we have invested over $100,000 this fall to support BVSD students and schools.
Who applied for funding
Over 60 applications were submitted to the Academic Opportunity Fund from 30 different schools and departments. Geographically, the schools ranged from Nederland and Gold Hill to Broomfield, and everywhere in between. Applicants included school principals and administrators, classroom teachers, and specialists, with an even mix of requests from elementary, middle and high schools.
How applications were reviewed
We engaged the community in this work by bringing in 15 volunteers to examine and evaluate the anonymized application requests and provide feedback on funding decisions. That data was then reviewed by Impact on Education (IOE) staff and final decisions were made.
- The average amount of each funding request was under $2000, though requests ranged from $100 to $20,000.
- 50 applications were funded directly by IOE, and we were able to connect six additional applicants to BVSD internal resources to meet the identified need.
What students and schools need
From school-based tutoring to RTD bus passes to an online math software, our Academic Opportunity Fund supported a variety of student and school needs including funding to:
- run a before and after school high school tutoring center specifically targeted to getting under-represented students enrolled and engaged in advanced courses.
- purchase IXL Math to help BVSD middle schoolers catch up on the math concepts they may have missed.
- repair instruments for BVSD for students in financial need
- provide after school tutoring for students identified as needing additional support
- purchase Spanish language picture books for the classroom library.
- purchase 10,000 RTD bus passes to help ensure transportation is not a barrier to class attendance.
Future rounds of the Academic Opportunity Fund
The positive response from schools reinforces the need for us to work closely with BVSD and provide supplemental funding to meet student needs. Our community volunteer grant readers were equally encouraged by their experiences learning about the needs of schools and educators across the district. We’ll continue to provide direct funding for school-based tutoring programs and plan to reopen the Academic Opportunity Fund for other needs early next year.
If your school is in need of funding for a tutoring program, please email allison@impactoneducation.org.
