Senator Steve Goss representing the 45th NC Senate District (Alexander, Ashe, Watauga and Wilkes Counties) today announced the availability of grants up to $175,000 for innovative programs and initiatives that promote keeping students in school. The grants are available to local school administrative units, schools, local agencies, or nonprofit organizations.
“I am urging schools and non-profits in the district to take advantage of this grant opportunity to address the drop out problem,” Goss said.
Among criteria to be applied in the award process are proposals that help at-risk students achieve academic success, prevent students from dropping out of school, or aim to increase the high school completion rate for those students who have already dropped out. Priority will be given to proposals that :
- Demostrate input from local community and coordination with other available programs or resources.
- Provide clear plans for sustaining the program in future years when State funding will no longer be provided.
- Would serve students in local schools that have a four-year cohort graduation rate of less than 65%.
- Demonstrate need for a grant, level of collaboration; ability to increase attendance, persistence, academic success, parental involvement; and graduation.
Information on the process to apply for a dropout prevention grant will be posted to the NC Department of Public Instruction’s
website beginning September 1. The deadline for applications is October 15, 2009.
For further information: call Steve Goss (919) 733-5742 or go to his
website.