Great News! Grant Proposal Accepted!

Good news arrived today in the form of the grant acceptance. I surely am committed now!
Below, please enjoy the read, which includes some new information, suggestions and resources.
Okay....give me a minute to insert the scanned document...

Yes, here it 'tis-


Summary of Project: Clearly describe your planned project by answering all of the following questions (incomplete summaries will not be considered). What do you plan to do? How do you plan to accomplish it? What sources will you consult? Who will be involved in carrying out the project? What will the finished project look like? Why do you want to do this project? How will others use this project? If your project depends on collaboration with other organizations, letters of support from the collaborating organizations must be included. If you need additional space, you may attach up to two additional pages.

Coincidentally inspired by a Juneau School District professional development class entitled 'Place-Based Education' and while dining at the Hot Bite restaurant, coming across a classroom-created 'History of Auke Bay' made in 1990 by teacher Judy Meier, I found myself considering how my class of special education students might be effectively challenged to learn more about their choices of high schools in Juneau. As a former resident of Douglas, I enjoyed walking the trail with the guide map and rediscovering historic artifacts found in the Treadwell community area. (It always amazes people when I tell them that Douglas used to be the largest town in Alaska!) I realized that with 10,00 people in Douglas there must have been a high school- the original Douglas High- before it became hyphenated to Juneau High School. There must be an interesting story there. How many students? What was a school day like? What did kids do then when they were not in school?

I'd like my students to create jointly produced professional booklet and individual podcasts based on their research and writings combined with current and historical photos that depict the story of Douglas High School. I believe we could do this by having a field trip to visit the Treadwell site, discover the artifacts and old buildings. Using carefully selected teacher questions, I would guide them to wonder about the old high school. Returning to JDHS, we would write in our student journals about what we learned and what we wonder. As a follow-up to the field trip I would bring in old photos of Douglas and we could do Internet research to glean what was available online about Old Douglas and the High School in particular. I would also like to contact sources in the Historical Society to uncover resources for which I am currently unaware.

My vision is to, first, create a booklet of student reflections and photos that is worthy of limited copies publishing. I've just learned about 'printing on demand' and seen examples of very professional looking works by local educators. Copies of our work could be displayed at all three current high schools, the Douglas Public Library and the Juneau-Douglas City Museum. The second culminating project would be the creation of individual podcasts made by each student that can be posted on the Internet and sent by email to anyone and everyone. If enthusiasm can be sustained, this project might even warrant a public presentation at a school board meeting and at evening public presentation time in the city library system. Written publications and public presentations would provide recognition: “Funded in part by a 2010/2011 Juneau History Grant from the Juneau- Douglas City Museum.”

This project has the potential to be a powerful and memorable learning tool for my students as well as providing a valuable benefit to the communities of Juneau and Douglas.

Personal Information
Please describe your skills, strengths, and professional experience that will enhance the success of this project. (If this is a collaborative project, please include relevant information about other participants.)

I am a 29-year resident of Juneau-Douglas and currently teacher of 'Basic English', 'Reading Support' and 'Life Skills' to special education students at Juneau-Douglas High School. I have taught computer-based skills with students from elementary to adult education night classes. Students who would be working on this project with my guidance and instruction, are typically several years below grade level in academic skills and struggle especially with writing. However, the same students are often quite adept at oral story-telling and communicating their knowledge by digital photo illustration and graphics. These same students can experience success through alternative means of demonstrating understanding, such as through the use of modern mixed-media graphic presentations. Additional motivation may be generated because podcast presentations are so easily stored on student personal iPods and shared with family and friends via email.

Timeline for Grant
Please provide a detailed timeline for your project, including start date, project outline, and anticipated date of completion. (Please note: written progress reports are due mid -January, and mid-March. Final projects must be completed by May 31, 2011).

Sept. 15-Oct. 2010 - Our first field trip to Treadwell-Douglas would occur in mid September through the end of October 2010. This period is work well because the foliage has fallen which better reveals artifacts of interest. One can also better see through the forest to imagine where buildings were situated from each other. We would likely take one to downtown Douglas to visit the library and correlate current buildings with those we have discovered in historical photos. Another walking field trip in October should include the Historical Library in the State Office Building and the Juneau-Douglas City Museum. Arrangements would be made in advance, of course, to prepare staff for our area of interest and anticipated questions.

Nov.-Dec. 2010 - classroom Internet research and writing projects comprised of reflective journaling and script writing for podcasts.

Jan.-Feb. 2011 - booklet compilation through photo editing, writings editing, peer and public editing of rough drafts. Individual podcast training and building of student presentations

Mar.-Apr. 2011 - submission of final versions to Print-on Demand

Apr. -May 15, 2011 - distribute booklets and podcasts to library system, Juneau-Douglas City Museum, parents, high schools. Make presentations to public.

Budget
Please provide a DETAILED list of project expenses and any sources of funding. (You may also attach an additional budget page if necessary.) In-kind services or goods are those services or goods that will be donated. The Juneau History Grant Committee will consider the purchase of equipment under special circumstances. Please describe why the purchase of equipment is vital to completing your Juneau history project. The Committee maintains that the Juneau History Grant does NOT cover administrative and/or contractual costs associated with this project.
(Please be as specific as possible, i.e. for printing costs break down into cost per copy X
estimated number of copies, etc.)
Item      Grant Request     Funds from other sources   In-kind donations      Source

Personnel (In-kind only) N/A Student effort Possible community member interview In-kind teacher prep and supervision

Materials N/A Digital cameras and recording devices will be provided by School District and student owned project materials Miscellaneous copying of draft materials and informational resources can be done at Juneau School District expense

Printing Through Print on Demand - Lulu.com

Booklets up to 20 pages are $22 each with an order of 25 copies= $550.00 

Building and posting of podcast presentations available through Juneau School District hardware and software 

Teaching of booklet production and podcast construction provided by myself as part of student class work

Other City bus transportation -

20 bus tokens for ten students x 2 trips to Douglas =  40 tokens @ $1.00 = $40.00 

Teacher and chaperon will pay for their own bus transportation

Total grant requested $ 590.00.............respectfully submitted June 14, 2010

Shortly, I'll import the application for the Historical Society grant that I submitted for this project. Hmm, maybe it's in my email as an attachment.