Education
The Staten Island Foundation is committed to providing schools and community organizations with support so that all students have access to an education that prepares them for life and to become productive members of our community. Robust literacy skills are essential. Achieving strong academic outcomes must be coupled with strong social-emotional development. And while we believe that the strong foundation of early childhood education is very important, we embrace the benefits of life-long learning and believe that it’s never too late to get a good education.
In recent years, The Foundation has made significant investments in professional development for teachers in order to improve outcomes for students. Professional development grants have been made for district-wide efforts as well as to individual schools. Examples of professional development programs supported include: Franklin Covey’s Leader in Me, the Core Collaborative, Teachers College Reading and Writing Program, Literacy Trust’s Reading Rescue, Yale University’s RULER Program, Responsive Classroom, and the Writing Revolution. In addition, the Foundation has supported professional development programs that emphasize diversity, equity, and inclusion. These include: Beyond Diversity: Courageous Conversations, Dr. Gholdy Muhammad’s approach to culturally responsive literacy, and the Center for Systems Awareness’ Compassionate Systems certification.
The Foundation has also supported a wide range of community-based organizations who partner with local schools to provide important services such as literacy interventions, mentoring, parent engagement and family training, and mental health services. Community-based organizations have also received support to connect at-risk youth to education and other services, provide books to health care facilities, provide out-of-school enrichment activities, and adult and family education. And the Foundation has supported the backbone function of the Staten Island Alliance for North Shore Children & Families, a collective impact effort that aims to improve outcomes for children, 0-8 years old, living on Staten Island’s North Shore.
Grant applicants with an Education focus will identify one of the Foundation’s target outcomes below and develop an anticipated results statement which aligns with one of the following:
- Increases in the number of K-12 students that are improving their academic achievement to at or above grade level.
- Increases in the number of pre-K children meeting their developmental milestones.
- Increases in the number of parents that are actively involved in supporting their child’s educational success.
- Increases in the number of youth that obtain a high school diploma, HSE or vocational credential.
- Increase the number of least-advantaged students that enter and succeed in college.
- Increases in the number of English language learners who become proficient in English at a level that meets their educational or career needs.
- Increases in the number of youth that demonstrate their leadership skills at school or in the community and improve their academic performance.