MINDPOP distributes 100 Gibson Guitars to 25 AISD campuses!

The Gibson Foundation, the City of Austin, and MINDPOP are awarding 100 guitars to 25 AISD schools and community arts partners to support music, band, and orchestra programs. The donation of Gibson Guitars furthers the Any Given Child mission to support the development of arts-rich schools and expand creative learning opportunities for Austin school students.  The gift was presented to AISD by the Mayor, the Gibson Foundation, and MINDPOP on December 17th, 2012, in recognition of the prestigious Any Given Child initiative in Austin, earned from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. 

All AISD schools had the opportunity to apply for Gibson Guitars to support their guitar and music programs in Spring of 2013.  MINDPOP will distribute 100 Gibson guitars to 25 AISD schools and community arts partners in May 2013.

Congratulations to schools receiving guitars:
Akins, Anderson, Austin, Crockett, Eastside Memorial, Lanier, LBJ, and Travis High Schools; Gardner Center; Bailey, Bedichek, Burnet, Covington, Dobie, Gorzycki, Kealing, Lamar, Mendez, Murchison, Pearce, Small, and Webb Middle Schools; and Ridgetop Elementary.

These guitars will not only promote the creative development of our students, it will develop the habits of mind that support academic skills useful throughout the lives of these young people.  Almost 1,400 students in the Austin school district participate in guitar programs at 10 high schools and 11 middle schools throughout the city.  Guitar is among the fastest-growing musical instrument choices in AISD as more students are drawn to the string instrument’s strong cultural heritage in genres such as jazz, mariachi and classical music. Gibson’s generous gift of electric guitars will strengthen the district’s fine arts programs, especially for jazz and blues performers.

Austin Creative Classroom Fund Awards

Austin Creative Classroom Fund Awards over $200,000 to AISD Schools
The Austin Creative Classroom Fund sent the second round of funding awards of over $200,000 in 33 grants to 25 schools in Austin ISD, Thursday, May 2, 2013.  The Austin Creative Classroom Fund, funded by an initial donation of $1M from an anonymous donor in Austin supports the city-wide creative learning plan, Any Given Child.  Any Given Child is a partnership between the City of Austin, MINDPOP, Austin ISD, and community arts partners designed to help teachers meet their instructional goals through the arts and increase the breadth and depth of creative opportunities for students.

Congratulations to:
Allison, Blackshear, Blazier, Brown, Campbell, Cunningham, Fulmore, Galindo, Govalle, Hart, Houston, Barbara Jordan, Linder, Lamar, McCallum, Mendez, Oak Springs, Ortega, Perez, Reilly, Rodriguez, Sunset Valley, Travis Heights, Webb, Winn, Widen, and Williams.

The grants awarded demonstrate a wide range of creative learning projects designed to support increased access to arts learning; improved student achievement and engagement through the use of arts-based strategies; and funding specialized materials and equipment designed to improve the quality of creative learning programs for students.

While any campus could apply, priority points were given to elementary schools with an enrollment of more than 60 percent students who are qualified for the federal free and reduced lunch program and officially designated Fine Arts Academies.

Next year’s grant application and funding guidelines will be announced in the winter with a spring 2014 deadline.

Texas Stars Foundation Grant

The Texas Stars Foundation is the official charity of the Texas Stars Hockey Club.  The Foundation strives to utilize the talents and resources of the Texas Stars players, families, staff and ownership to enrich the greater central Texas area. The Foundation has an upcoming grant opportunity available to all AISD schools. The deadline is May 31^st 2013. For more information and application details, please visit http://www.texasstarshockey.com/community/donation-requests.

Annie's Grants for Gardens

Annie's Grants for Gardens Annie's Grants for Gardens are provided to K-12 school gardens nationwide that connect children directly to real food. Two types of grants are provided. “Getting Started: Funds for Your New Program” offers grants of $500 to start brand-new school garden programs. “Digging Deeper: Funds for Your Existing Program” offers grants of $1,500 to enhance current school garden programs. Online applications must be submitted by May 31, 2013. Visit the company’s website to learn more about the program.

Austin Sustainable Minigrants

The City of Austin’s Sustainable Urban Agriculture Program (SUACG) is offering ten minigrants in the amount of $2,500 to organizations that contribute to the following objectives:
• Increase the number of urban farms, community gardens, farmers’ markets and / or farm-to-site programs in areas of high need.
• Establish programs related to urban farm training, education and outreach, in a way that continues to catalyze agricultural innovation that will address challenges with the region’s food system and farming community.
Applications will be accepted from now until the deadline of May 10in three weeks. Proposals will be reviewed through the month of May, selected in late May or early June, and reimbursement funding will be disbursed in mid-August.

Proposal submission
You may submit your completed proposal via email or mail:
Mail: City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department
Sustainable Urban Agriculture and Community Gardens Program
Attn: Heather Frambach
919 West 28 ½ St.
Austin, TX 78705
Phone: (512) 974-9409
Email: heather.frambach@austintexas.gov

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Heather Frambach at
(512) 974-9409 or heather.frambach@austintexas.gov

For Guidelines, you may email Juliana.tran@austinisd.org

April Grant Opportunities

Target: Early Childhood Reading Grants
Target Early Childhood Reading Grants promote a love of reading and encourages young children to read together with their families by supporting programs such as after-school reading events and weekend book clubs. Maximum award: $2,000. Eligibility: schools, libraries, and nonprofit organizations. Deadline: April 30, 2013.
Target: Arts and Culture in Schools Grants Target Arts and Culture in Schools Grants help schools and nonprofits to bring arts and cultural experiences directly to K-12 students. These programs must have a curriculum component. Maximum award: $2,000. Eligibility: schools and nonprofit organizations. Deadline: April 30, 2013.

ING: Unsung Heroes The ING Unsung Heroes awards program recognizes innovative and progressive thinking in education through monetary awards. Maximum award: $25,000. Eligibility: full-time educators, teachers, principals, paraprofessionals, or classified staff members with effective projects that improve student learning at an accredited K-12 public or private school. Deadline: April 30, 2013.

NCSS: Christa McAuliffe Reach for the Stars Award National Council for the Social Studies Christa McAuliffe Reach for the Stars Award aims to help a social studies educator make his or her dream of innovative social studies a reality. Grants will be given to assist classroom teachers in developing and implementing imaginative, innovative, and illustrative social studies teaching strategies; and supporting student implementation of innovative social studies, citizenship projects, field experiences, and community connections. Maximum award: $2,500. Eligibility: Full-time social studies teachers or social studies teacher educators currently engaged with K-12 students; NCSS membership required. Deadline: May 1, 2013.

source: Los Angeles Education Partnership

Active Schools Acceleration Project

The Active Schools Acceleration Project, an initiative of ChildObesity180, is accepting applications from K-12 schools nationwide for ASAP Acceleration Grants, which provide everything schools need to launch new physical activity programs. The campaign is designed to elevate and celebrate "champions" who can successfully bring an ASAP physical activity programs to his or her school.

The program will provide $1,000 in seed money to a thousand elementary schools to implement one of three signature ASAP physical activity programs.

Deadline: April 22, 2013 

http://www.activeschoolsasap.org/