Timeline and How-To
To learn more about the two current LSTA grant opportunities, please attend an upcoming grant guidance webinar–Thursday, March 31, 2016, 1:30-2:30 p.m. or Tuesday, April 12, 2016, 4:00-5:00 p.m. There is no need to pre-register; just click on the link for the webinar you’d like to attend. Grant applications and instructions are also available on the Minnesota Department of Education’s Grants Management site. Visit the LSTA webpage, view the 2016 grant opportunities timeline or contact Jackie Blagsvedt (651-582-8805) for more information.

Need sample grant ideas? Read the following short snippets about grants awarded in 2015, and if something looks like it could work, contact Jackie to see if you can get a copy of the grant application. Good luck!

 Bloomington Public Schools (BPS) – $80,084 “Middle School Makerspaces: A Community of Creators” Middle School Makerspaces will ignite the exploration of 21st century digital literacy skills for middle school students and the surrounding community. The BPS middle school media specialists, in cooperation with district and community partners, will launch the design, implementation and facilitation of makerspaces in all three BPS middle school media centers. The school community will engage with the new makerspaces and learn from the student facilitators at open houses designed to inspire “A Community of Creators” and held in collaboration with Hennepin County Library.

Farmington Public Schools – $43,233 “Bridging Literacy through Targeted Instruction” In Bridging Literacy through Targeted Instruction, North Trail Elementary school’s media center will engage and connect English Learners, low-income and at-risk students and their families with library services developed to meet their unique literacy needs. An expanded after school program, new library collections and innovative outreach efforts are all designed to help at-risk students improve reading proficiency, engage families in school and increase school readiness.

Friends of Hennepin County Library – $96,912 “Cedar Riverside Library Outreach Project” The Cedar Riverside Library Outreach Project will connect Somali residents in Minneapolis’ Cedar Riverside neighborhood to library services. Trusted community-library liaisons will bring Hennepin County Library’s vibrant culture of lifelong learning to accessible community spaces in the neighborhood. The liaisons will build a targeted community outreach program, develop organizational partnerships, connect residents to library resources, and bring customized services into the neighborhood using a mobile computer lab and Wi-Fi hotspot.

Hmong Cultural Center – $12,020 “Hmong Resource Center Library Expansion Project” The Hmong Resource Center Library Expansion Project will increase the availability of Hmong cultural and historical resources to people in the Twin Cities, throughout Minnesota and across the United States. The project will expand access to the Hmong Cultural Center’s library collection, including the Hmong Studies Virtual Library, which includes books, professional journal articles, dissertations, theses and research reports concerning Hmong Americans and Hmong history and culture.

Metropolitan Library Service Agency (MELSA) – $100,000 “Identifying Access Needs for E-Government Services”  Led by MELSA, this project will survey metropolitan area residents on their skills, use of, and access to technology. The data collected will help to determine a) how local governments and education institutions can improve access to e-government and e-learning so it is available to all; and b) how library governing bodies and administrators can best deploy services, utilize technology and train staff to support e-government and e-learning.  MELSA and its member libraries will synthesize collected data to develop general and local best practices. The recommendations will be shared with local governments, educational organizations, and community agencies in an effort to increase the effectiveness of and access to e-government resources and services through public libraries.

Robbinsdale Area Schools – $64,228 “Creating a Culture of Literacy among AVID High School Students” AVID’s mission is to close the achievement gap by preparing all students for college readiness and success in a global society. Robbinsdale media specialists will help to prepare AVID students at Cooper and Armstrong high schools for their transitions to college and careers by creating a culture of literacy in new collaborative spaces with targeted instruction and book collections. Students will participate in book discussion groups, present book talks and select titles for the media center collections. Media specialists will measure reading inventory scores, interest in writing and fiction circulation among the participants to determine the impact of new spaces, collections and services.

Saint Paul Public Schools (SPPS) – $99,866 “Building Research-Ready Students in SPPS” SPPS will create a district-wide framework to build student research skills in grades 6-12. Librarian-teacher pairs will complete the Metronet Information Literacy Initiative—boosting their abilities to teach students how to conduct research and use their findings ethically. They will embed common research strategies and language into the curriculum, ensuring the research process is taught in context and not in isolation. Four high-quality digital resources will be made available district-wide to further support SPPS in building research-ready students.

Waconia Public Schools – $49,473 “Waconia Digital Navigators: Students at the Helm” “Waconia Digital Navigators: Students at the Helm” will empower 3rd and 4th grade students at Bayview and Southview elementary schools to be “captains of innovation” who can successfully navigate the chaotic waters of the digital world. Grant activities will include curriculum development and professional coaching for staff, which will help the district to integrate resources from ISTE, AASL, CommonSense Media and the “Big 6” to provide authentic learning opportunities for students, staff and families. Targeted areas of improvement are 1) digital and print research skills; 2) e-portfolios of digital artifacts; 3) student engagement through collaborative use of Google Apps and interactive digital and face-to-face communication; and 4) student leadership opportunities through the creation of the Waconia Tech and Library squads.

Waseca-Le Sueur Regional Library System – $20,466 “Romp and Rhyme” Romp and Rhyme will create a standard of excellence for early literacy education at Waseca-Le Sueur libraries. The libraries will integrate reading, writing, talking, singing and playing into highquality programming to improve early literacy skills in pre-readers and get them ready to learn to read in Kindergarten. Librarians will create storytime resources and kits that teach the early literacy skills recognized as the strongest and most consistent predictors of later literacy proficiency. In an effort to extend early literacy education beyond library walls, high-quality early literacy activities, modeling and mentoring will be integrated into storytimes, outreach and workshops for families and care providers.