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HomeMy Public PortalAboutapril19literacygrantTo: Trustees of the Watertown Free Public Library From: Friends of Project Literacy ("Friends") Date: March 29, 2019 Re: Pending Proposal to Watertown Community Foundation (WCF) Please find attached the Friends of Project Literacy's 2018 Institutional Grant Application to Watertown Community Foundation for Critical Service Extensions to Beginner and Intermediate Students. The Friends plan to propose a renewal of this grant for the 2019 cycle. The Friends are submitting the 2018 funded proposal for review, because WCF has not yet released the Request For Proposals (RFP) for 2019. The attached text will be updated with technical details such as current data about the student population. We do not anticipate any significant changes to the proposal unless the RFP includes changes to eligibility requirements, funding categories, or other factors that would dictate a different approach to our proposal. Thank you for your consideration, and please contact the Friends if you have questions or need more information. ATT: Friends of Project Literacy's 2018 Institutional Grant Application to Watertown Community Foundation for Critical Service Extensions to Beginner and Intermediate Students Watertown Community Foundation 2018 Institutional Support Grants Application Project Summary: Name of proposed program or project: Critical service extensions for beginner- and intermediate -level students Amount requested: $4.852 One -sentence summary of your proposal: We propose critical service extensions to provide a full year Saturday class for our beginner students who have week -day commitments, and summer beginner and intermediate classes for parents of children in the Watertown schools. Contact information: Name of sponsoring organization: Friends of Project Literacy Organizational address: Address: 123 Main Street, Watertown, MA 02472 Website (if applicable): www.watertownlib.org/projectliteracy Sponsoring organization is a nonprofit organization Tax Exempt ID Number: 04-3275208 Primary contact person: Laurie Garden Primary contact's title: President, Friends of Project Literacy Telephone number(s): 617-510-1538 Email address: I.garden@comcast.net Secondary contact person: Philippa Biggers Secondary's contact's title: Director, Project Literacy Telephone number(s): 617-924-8797 Email address: pbiggers@watertown-ma.gov Please list officers and Board members for your organization: Board, Friends of Project Literacy Officers President: Laurie Garden, Arlington; volunteer tutor; integration analyst, former college teacher VP and Clerk: Emily Avery -Miller, Watertown; volunteer tutor; Assistant Teaching Professor, Department of English, Northeastern University Treasurer: Karol Zolud, Malden; former student; business owner, independent contractor Other Board Members Lauren Harrison, Belmont; ELL teacher at Lowell Elementary, Watertown Public Schools Nelly Luna, Houston, Texas; former student; volunteer tutor; Spanish instructor Karen Roubicek, Watertown; volunteer tutor; Manager, Marketing Events at Liberty Mutual Group 1) In one or two sentences, what is the mission of your organization? The mission of the Friends of Project Literacy is to provide financial and advisory support for Project Literacy. Project Literacy's mission is to assist adult basic education learners, both Speakers of Other Languages and English speakers, by providing educational services that help adult learners find their place within the community, to be seen and heard and to belong. We provide opportunities for adults to improve their English language skills for employment, parenting, and preparation for higher education or self improvement. All our students have a desire to better their lives. Our goal is to help learners: • function independently in the community • take responsibility for lifelong learning • communicate in English well enough to understand others and be understood • read with comprehension • advocate effectively for their families and themselves • access library resources • utilize information and communications technology • participate in recreational, civic and cultural activities We create a network in which adult learners (more than 520), volunteer tutors (189), and teachers (13) share their knowledge. 2) If your organization does not serve everyone in Watertown, what Watertown sub -population do you serve? Project Literacy primarily serves immigrants who need to improve their English language skills in order to be able to better communicate with employers, with their children's schools so that they can better advocate for and help their children, with their healthcare providers so they can advocate for themselves and their families, with their neighbors and other community members so that they can more fully integrate into the Watertown community. Some are eager to become U.S. citizens and need English to pass the citizenship test. Watertown has historically welcomed immigrants from all over the world and Watertown's population of recent immigrants is substantial. The need for our services is evident in the nearly 350 inquiries we received last year about our classes and tutoring. Our currently enrolled learners come from 63 countries and represent a wide range of education levels, from those who have advanced professional or academic degrees in their countries of origin to those who never learned to read or write in their first language. 3) What is your organization's annual reach (in #s of people or households) through all the programs and services you provide? This year we are serving more than 520 learners. 221 are enrolled in 11 English classes at six levels that are taught by paid professional teachers. 217 are matched with trained volunteer tutors and meet 1.5 hours/week on average with their tutors. 125 learners meet once or twice a week in classes taught by volunteer teachers. We also hold a year round, weekly conversation class, "Let's Talk!", for which registration is not required, but which typically draws 20 students each week. In October and again in June, 15-20 people enroll in our citizenship classes. 4) What is your operating budget for the current fiscal year? $184, 631 (FY19) 5) What will be the impact of this grant on your organization's operations? (Please be specific so we can understand the value of this grant to your organization's ability to achieve your mission.) This grant would enable us to extend critical services to two groups. Opening more spaces and another course time option for beginners allows us to better serve one of the most vulnerable segments of our target population, whether they are new arrivals, recently learned about Project Literacy or have just decided to take the first steps of seeking more help with their English proficiency. Offering support and instruction at this stage can be crucial to welcoming these learners into our community and giving them skills and confidence for basic communication where they live and work. The Saturday class increases our beginner seats and extends service to those whose caregiving or work responsibilities make it difficult or impossible to attend evening or weekday classes. The second group we are focused on extending service to is parents and caregivers of children in the Watertown Public Schools at both the beginner and intermediate English language learner levels. More than 40% of the learners we already serve are parents of children under 18, but introductory summer classes offer another and critical opportunity to engage new learners with Project Literacy and the Schools. We are focusing our request for FY19 on two beginner and one intermediate level critical service extensions: • 100% funding for our full year Saturday Beginner 2 class • 50% funding for our summer Beginner class for parents and caregivers with children in the Watertown public schools • 50% funding for our summer Intermediate class for parents and caregivers with children in the Watertown public schools Watertown Community Foundation funded the Saturday class for the 32 week academic year for FY18. We are requesting funding for 48 weeks for the full year for FY19, increasing funding from $2568 to $3852. Watertown Public Schools has allocated $1000 again this year in Title 3 monies for parent engagement to Project Literacy to help fund these two summer parent classes. Last year Watertown Community Foundation contributed the balance of $336.50 to co -fund the summer Beginner parent class. This year we are increasing the intensity of the two classes by 1 hour per week, from 3 to 4 direct instructional hours, and extending the classes by 1 week, from 5 to 6 weeks. We are requesting the balance of $1000 of the $2000 total required for the two summer classes from WCF. 6) List the name or type of each grant and dollar amount you received from WCF each year. Briefly explain what impact the most recent grant you received from WCF had on your organization. 2017 (FY18) Institutional Support Grant $4,500 2016 (FY17) Institutional Support Grant $5,000 2015 (FY16) Institutional Support Grant $5,000 2014 (FY15) Institutional Support Grant $5.000 2013 (FY14) Institutional Support Grant $5,000 Watertown Community Foundation's support in FY18 has enabled Project Literacy to extend critical services offered to beginners and to upper -level English language learners while maintaining our core programming of morning and evening classes for adult English language learners, tutor training and support, and overall outreach and assistance to those receiving or seeking our services. Even as we engage more learners than ever before, we continue to focus on the high quality of our teaching and training. Additional services for beginners enabled us (1) to provide a class in a new time slot and address the needs of more of the most vulnerable learners on our waiting list, and help them begin their process of integration into the community, and (2) to offer a class to engage new English language learners who are parents of children in the Watertown Public Schools with both the Project Literacy and the schools, and strengthen our partnership with the schools. The extensions of our services to our upper -level students provided classes that (3) gave them powerful tools to navigate the job search and understand workplace culture, and (4) helped them build their computer literacy. 7) Is there anything else WCF should know about your organization or the importance of this grant to you. WCF Institutional Support funding is significant to our program. Project Literacy does not receive state or federal funding for adult education, beyond the $1,000 in Title 3 funding allocated to Project Literacy by the Watertown Public Schools, so the support we receive from the local community is vital. Consistent with the library's identity as an institution that is both public and free, it is critical that we offer our adult learners all of our services free of charge. With a grant this year from the Watertown Community Foundation, we will be able to continue to do so and at the same time reach out to as many who need our help as possible and maintain the high quality of our programs. 8) How will you acknowledge the funding provided by the Watertown Community Foundation? Website Announcement, Social Media Posting Other (Newsletters)