While Cornerstone’s mission is specific in nature, it has always been guided by the intent not to be overly prescriptive. The genesis of the “entrepreneurial grant” was the recognition that sustained change in teaching and learning at the school level is a product of school district policy and leadership. Based upon that rationale, Cornerstone offers an annual grant of $25,000 each July to the school districts with which it works. The goal is to spark entrepreneurial creativity relative to the Cornerstone work that is consistent with the district’s focus and goals. The proposed work should impact Cornerstone schools but need not be limited to them. In other words, it should help the school/s as well as further the mission of Cornerstone. The one-page proposal should include the statement of need (rationale), description of project (including an implementation timeline), and guidelines for assessing the impact. The grant award is issued in the summer and is renewable annually based on a written progress report due in the spring.

Muscogee County Entrepreneurial Grant Proposal - July, 2008

Statement of Need:

The Muscogee County School District proposes “Literacy Under the Stars” a literacy and science-based grant that meets three goals. Two are implied in the Muscogee Strategic Plan and one supports the Georgia Performance Standards:

1. To develop “parents as partners” through collaboration with teachers, principals, students
   and community members using investigative strategies and community resources as a learning tool.


2. To use science standards as the core element of design to connect reading, writing, science inquiry and technology to hands on experiences supported by the Coca Cola Space Center.


3. To promote effective communication and a positive collaborative learning relationship at the school, district and community levels.

The plan will demonstrate how literacy knowledge encompasses all core subject areas and specifically the Georgia Performance Standards in language arts and science. Science is now a tested subject, which depends on competency of science content as well as comprehension reading skills. The Coca Cola Space Center is an integral part of science education in the district and will provide state of the art facilities to support implementation of this grant. The process and outcomes of the project will underscore the importance of literacy for life-long learning and promote community collegiality.

Description of the Project:

Five elementary schools (Downtown, Key, St. Mary’s, Rigdon Road, and Wynnton Arts Academy) will be core sites for planning and selection of science/reading/writing content for “Literacy Under the Stars”. The schools will host participating teams in the first phase of implementation and tie classroom instruction to strands of the grant.

High school students who are required to choose community service projects and their service learning coordinators will be paired with each of the five schools to collaborate with the elementary teacher/student/parent teams. They will lead content investigations and research through technology and assist teams in producing modules around literacy materials and reading and writing strategies introduced through science concepts in the classroom. The science research and investigations will be incorporated into poems, stories, plays, and dances expressing the theme chosen by each team and will be highlighted in a final production at the Coca Cola Space Center Omnisphere Theater.

Springfield Public Schools Entrepreneurial Grant Proposal - July, 2008

Statement of Need:

During the coming school year, the Springfield Public Schools will scale-up work with Cornerstone. Four schools in the district will become new Cornerstone schools. Therefore, we will increase the number of Cornerstone classrooms in the district by 50 %. We will also continue to build the capacity of our Elementary English Language Arts Instructional Leadership Specialists (ILS’s) as they engage in and disseminate Cornerstone work to other teachers. The Continuous Professional Development (CPD) cycle that underpins Cornerstone work emphasizes the importance of teachers understanding the research that informs their practice, so that they will know why they are teaching in particular ways and will make informed decisions about teaching and learning rather than trying out random activities. The CPD also requires teachers to observe and discuss new practices so they can implement them in their own classrooms. Developing these reflective practitioners is particularly critical in our school system because we serve learners from a variety of backgrounds that have a wide range of experiences and varied levels of literacy. With the large increase in the number of teachers who will be beginning to develop Cornerstone classrooms next year, there is an urgent need to increase the knowledge base of our teachers and Instructional Literacy Specialist and provide them with the research that underpins and models the classroom practices they will implement.

Description of the Project:

Coaches will model some of these practices through live classroom demonstrations, but videotapes/CD’s and professional books are also necessary as well to reach the number of teachers that we want to educate next year. Therefore, we want to develop a Professional Resource Collection and Distribution System. The collection will include multiple copies of professional books and videotapes/CD’s. These materials will enable teachers view classroom practice in action and understand the thinking of teachers engaged in the work. The materials can be used during large group, formal PD sessions, during small study groups and by individuals. Teachers will be able to watch the videos/CD’s both at school and at home.

We will establish a system for the purchase, cataloging, distribution and return of the materials and employ a person to operate this system on a daily basis. This person would be known as the Collection Coordinator and would be paid a stipend for establishing policies for and overseeing the use of the collection. Materials and equipment for the storage and management of the collection would also have to be purchased.

Locating the collection in a school will provide accessibility for teachers. Freedman School has recently revitalized their school library and will house the collection. The school would participate in this project and support the distribution of materials to other Cornerstone schools and to the district to support the ILS’s as part of their work as a Foundation School.