Grant & District Community Programs
Quarterly Newsletter - February 2020
We Do Grants and a Whole Lot More
I often think of the work we do in GDCP as a combination of heart and head. Grant writing, program development, budget creation, and the management of grant-funded programs requires a lot of analytical skills, but that is only part of what we do and how we operate. We also oversee The Lion's Den de-escalation rooms (and amazing Teaching Assistants) at the four elementary schools and Emmet Belknap, and help the District move toward a more Trauma Sensitive and Restorative approach District-wide. Building community partnerships that provide services for students and families is another way we use our heart, while developing more efficient and effective systems for communication and data collection and usage have us using our heads every day.
Education, and especially teaching, requires the combined power of heart and head - and when they are both fully activated we have the power to change lives. February seems like a great month to remember the importance of our heart/head potential and of tapping into our compassion, for ourselves, and others. See you in Spring!
School Based Development
The Lion's Den & Second Step
Each K-6 building has a room, staffed by a trained Teaching Assistant, called The Lion's Den. This room, often called a Mindfulness Room or Calming Room in other schools, is a place for students to de-escalate outside of the classroom when they no longer have control over their emotions and/or behaviors. It is also a place for students who exhibit frequent emotional "melt-downs" or disruptive/destructive behaviors to learn skills for identifying their feelings and emotional triggers, and gain strategies to self-manage their emotions and behaviors. Second Step instruction, provided by Lion's Den Teaching Assistants in K-4 and, combined with mental health curriculum, by a PE/Health Teacher in grades 5 & 6, teaches essential social emotional skills - helping students build empathy, including care for self and for others.
Upcoming Grant Opportunities!
Donor's Choose - quick, easy way to get items you need for your class or group (rolling*)
Bauer Family Foundation (no website) - at-risk youth, education, health, hunger, etc. (rolling)
The Children's Guild Foundation - supports education initiatives (rolling)
Dollar General Literacy Foundation - literacy for youth (opens 2/27/20)
The Baird Foundation (no website) - arts, youth, education, health, & the environment (rolling)
The Tower Foundation - students with intellectual or learning disabilities, and mental health programs (next cycle begins in April)
*accepting applications/letters of interest at anytime during the fiscal year
Want to Learn More About Trauma Sensitive and Restorative Practices?
Grants and District / Community Programs
Pride in our Past...Faith in our Future
Holly Dickinson, Director
Email: hdickinson@lockportschools.net
Website: www.lockportschools.org/grants
Location: 130 Beattie Avenue, Lockport, NY, USA
Phone: 716-478-4849
Facebook: facebook.com/LockportCitySchoolDistrict
Twitter: @LockportSchools