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All too often, grant proposals include unrealistic asks, industry buzzwords that lack real meaning, and too much room for interpretation. Instead, it’s best to be as straightforward as possible and make clear what good you will be able to achieve with grant funding.
Get specific during the grant writing process about how you will use grant funds and what beneficial outcomes are imminent. Make the grantor connect with your cause, even if this is the first time they’re learning about what you do. Include standout stories and examples to paint a clear picture of your circumstances.
Courses such as USD’s online Nonprofit Grant Writing are incredibly useful to stay up to date on the latest, most effective methods. Students learn how to identify grant opportunities, step-by-step processes of grant preparation, how to integrate budgeting, and more.
Being prepared with facts and figures to prove your organization’s needs is important. Communicating clearly, knowing the latest industry trends, and setting yourself apart are also best practices when it comes to grant writing.
Resources like Grants.gov, Candid.org, and the Council on Foundations have searchable databases of grant opportunities. Consult your local network as well to learn about any community resources that might be available.
Start by taking a close look at your organization’s circumstances — financial and otherwise — to evaluate exactly what areas need support. This will allow you to seek grant opportunities that are the right fit, also helping to ensure that you’ll stand out from other applicants.
Yes. Teachers, who historically experience high rates of career burnout, are able to find stress relief and enhance their emotional well-being by practicing mindfulness alongside their students. Everyone in the school community benefits when educators are grounded and have a grasp on their thoughts and emotions.
If you would like to learn how to properly develop and practice mindfulness in the classroom, consider taking the Introduction to the Mindful Classroom course from the University of San Diego. This course will equip you with the knowledge and tools necessary to fully implement mindful concepts in your classroom, and help students and other staff realize the benefits of mindful practices.
Consider this USD eBook, “18 Signs a Student is Struggling,” to help quickly recognize and act on signs of emotional distress.
Once students have a grasp on basic mindfulness concepts, they become second nature and therefore integrate into all aspects of their social lives, from sports teams and clubs to casual social interactions.
Breathing exercises, guided meditation, nature walks, and intention-setting are all simple ways to incorporate mindfulness into a classroom environment.
Enhanced concentration, self-awareness, and emotional regulation abilities are benefits of mindfulness. The benefits that students experience from mindfulness practices in the classroom last far beyond their formative years and will actually benefit them long-term.
Mindful education involves integrating meditation principles, theories, and practices into education with the goal of helping students learn techniques to calm and focus the mind that can help them develop empathy, self-awareness, and communication skills.
It depends on what kinds of content you want to share and which platforms parents and guardians are comfortable using. At the beginning of each school year, send out a survey asking parents to indicate their preferred social media platform, then use the top two results for parent-facing communications. With so many people on multiple social media platforms, it’s best not to limit school news to just one; fortunately, managing multiple accounts at once is simple with social media management tools like Hootsuite and Facebook Publishing.
According to Pew Research, 67% of U.S. teens use TikTok, with 16% on the app almost constantly. Since so many students already gather in this digital space, teachers can engage them by creatively incorporating it into lessons. Ask students to film reactions to course content using TikTok trends, conduct research via subject matter experts’ posts, or create response videos in place of traditional project reports.
To protect students’ privacy, keep all class-related social media accounts private or invitation-only and encourage them to set their own accounts to private or create new class-specific profiles. Review proper online etiquette and behavior with students and establish firm consequences for cyberbullying. As a teacher, it’s critical to maintain professional boundaries online, so avoid discussing or posting anything personal on school social media accounts. You may even want to grant access to students’ parents so they can monitor how their children are using these spaces.
Educational leaders should possess the following traits:
Teacher leaders are those who have “significant teaching experience, are known to be excellent educators, and are respected by their peers.”
Educational leadership, or teacher leadership, is when teachers go “beyond their classroom responsibilities and assume informal and formal roles within the school to influence and enhance instruction and learning for all students. Teachers who hold the professional identity as an educator who demonstrate leadership within the classroom, school, community and beyond, either through formal or informal roles.”
“Special needs” encompasses such a wide range of student abilities and challenges that no one space can accommodate all physical or behavioral needs. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) states that all public school classrooms must be ADA compliant, meaning that they must be accessible to wheelchair users and that teachers must make reasonable accommodations when it comes to technology tools. In general, best practices for classroom design apply to students of all abilities, such as minimizing distractions, making the space safe and comfortable, ensuring every student has access to the tools they need, and that the layout supports both independent and collaborative work.
Designing or redesigning your classroom does not require expensive materials or upgrades. Big box stores like Walmart and Target sell attractive, affordable classroom organization solutions, and Pinterest features hundreds of thousands of ideas for designing a classroom on a budget.
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The credit earned is considered Graduate Level Extension Credit, in semester hours (1 semester hour= 15 contact hours). The credit earned is usually used for salary advancement, credential renewing and/or recertification. Graduate Level Extension credit is not usually transferrable towards a degree. Prior district approval is highly recommended and the responsibility of the student if using the units towards salary advancement, credential renewing and/or recertification.
Independent Study Self-Paced courses – USD allows 9 months from the date of registration to complete an independent study formatted course and submit all completed course work for evaluation.
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