Innovation in Education

2013 Grant Application

Application Requirements

The Cox Connects Foundations Innovation in Education program was established to provide grants to
public and private schools (grades Pre-K thru 12) and the dedicated teachers at those schools. The
purpose of this program is to fund classroom and collaborative educational programs that encourage
and promote students ingenuity and imagination.
This year, the Cox Connects Foundation will award grants up to $10,000 each. Applications will be
accepted for individual classroom programs or school-wide, collaborative educational programs to
schools in the Cox Communications service area.
All Innovation in Education grants are specific to schools in Cox Communications service areas. Tulsaarea communities include: Tulsa, Bixby, Broken Arrow, Catoosa, Claremore, Coweta, Glenpool, Jenks,
Keifer, Owasso, Sand Springs and Sapulpa. Oklahoma City-area communities include: Bethany,
Choctaw, Del City, Edmond, El Reno, Forest Park, Guthrie, Harrah, Lake Aluma, Midwest City, Moore,
Mustang, Nichols Hills, Nicoma Park, Norman, Oklahoma City, Spencer, The Village, Tinker AFB, Valley
Brook, Warr Acres and Yukon.

Classroom or Collaborative Educational Projects

Teachers/principals at eligible schools are encouraged to submit an application. Classroom, schoolwide, or collaborative educational program applications are welcome in any subject area. The oneyear grant may be used to create a new classroom program or build upon an existing classroom
program.
Grant requests between $1,000 and $5,000 are available for individual classroom grants. Grants
exceeding $5,000 (max $10,000) must promote student learning and participation through a schoolwide or collaborative teaching program that incorporates multiple classrooms, grades or course
disciplines, or engages partner schools or districts.
Teachers are permitted to submit one classroom grant application in addition to one Collaborative
project application. However, the individual grant proposal must be separate and unrelated to the
collaborative proposal. Only one project application will be accepted per collaborative project.
Multiple teachers/administrators should not submit applications for the same project.
Teachers are eligible to receive a maximum of one individual and one collaborative grant per school
year. Note: Schools may submit applications for multiple unique programs.

Limitations
Applications in the following areas will not be considered unless part of a larger proposed curriculum:

Large scale equipment, such as playground equipment

Computers, iPads/Tablets, SMART Boards, televisions or office equipment (for general use)

Teacher development and/or substitute days

Student and/or teacher conferences

Financial compensation

Teacher and/or student field trips, guest speakers or performers

All funds granted by the Cox Connects Foundation are to be used exclusively for the project listed in
the grant application. Grants must be used within that school year, unless otherwise specified. Schools
may reapply each year. The Cox Connects Foundation reserves the right to accept or reject any
application and to approve or disapprove any proposal for funding. The Cox Connects Foundation also
reserves the right to change the application criteria at any time. Other limitations may apply and will
be evaluated on an individual basis.

Innovation in Education
2013 Grant Application

Application Deadline: March 1, 2013

Contact Information
School:

Northridge Elementary

School District:

Putnam City Schools

Address:

8501 NW 82nd

City/State/Zip:

Oklahoma City, OK 73132

School Phone:

405-722-5560

Principal:

Kim McLaughlin

Principal E-mail:

kmclaughlin@putnamcityschools.org

Primary Contact:

405-203-9738

Primary Contact E-mail:

aarmstrong@putnamcityschools.org

Alternate Phone Number:

405-722-5560

Program Information
Subject of grant (select all that apply):
Art/Music
Foreign Language
Home Economics
Literacy
Mathematics

Physical Education
Science
Social Studies
Other ____________________

Program Title:

Innovative Science Lab

Number of Students Served

by Program:
Program Time Period:

24-27 students per year

Program Budget:

$2,411.13

Amount Requested:

$2,411.13

Program Summary:
(limit 75 words)

This innovative science lab is a three phase grant including a

1 year

STEM science Kit, student microscopes, digital eye piece for the
microscope, and triple beam balances.

Application Requirements
Using the questions below, clearly describe your classroom or collaborative educational
program. Be sure to address all headings in sequential order. Please do not submit any
additional information, as it will not be considered. Note: Applications that do not include all
of the information below will be disqualified.

Classroom or Collaborative Project Description

Classroom Project ($1,000 - $5,000 requests): (3 pages max)

Who will participate in the program? Please include the number of participants,
ages, grades and other pertinent information about the students involved.

Describe program activities, including a timeline.

What are the specific objectives and desired outcomes of this program?
What evaluation tools will be used to measure if the program successfully met the
objectives listed?

Collaborative Project ($5,000 - $10,000 requests): (4 pages max)

Who will participate in the program? Please include the names of schools or

agencies (if applicable), plus the number of participants, ages, grades and other
pertinent information about the students involved.

Describe program activities, including a timeline.

What are the specific objectives and desired outcomes of this program?
What evaluation tools will be used to measure if the program successfully met the
objectives listed?

How will this collaborative project impact education across multiple classrooms,
grades or course disciplines, or engages partner schools or districts?

Budget Information (2 pages max)

Use the Budget Expense Form below to provide an itemized budget for your
program.

Provide support documentation clearly stating how Cox Connects Foundation funds
will be utilized for each budget expense listed on the form.

Can the program be sustained beyond the grant? If so, how?

Are you seeking other funding for this program? If so, list the organization(s) and
amount(s).

Budget Expense Form

Expenses
Equipment:

Amount Requested
from Cox

Total Project Expenses

$2,411.13

$2,411.13

Food:

$0.00

Printing & Copying:

$0.00

Supplies & Materials:

$0.00

Training:

$0.00

Travel / Transportation:

$0.00

Other:

$0.00
Total Expenses:

$2,411.13

$2,411.13

Grant Application Review Process

Grant applications are reviewed annually by the Cox Connects Advisory Council comprised of
Cox Communications employees. Funding decisions are based on the quality of the
applicants program, the impact on students learning and sustainability of the project.
If selected to receive an Innovation in Education grant, you will be required to submit a brief
evaluation report at the end of your grant documenting program expenses and activities. You
also will be asked to provide a guided site tour of the program facility for the Cox Connects
Advisory Council. Additionally, your program and/or your school may be featured in a Cox
Communications publication or television spot.

Principal Acknowledgement
The submitting school principal must type his/her name below to signify accordance with
these requests.
Principal Name:

Kim McLaughlin

School:

Northridge Elementary

Date:

January 10, 2014

How to Apply

Complete the Innovation in Education grant application

Include the program description
Include the budget expense form and supporting budget expense descriptions
Include principals acknowledgement of the grant recipient requirements

Submit application electronically (PDF or Word format only include all documents
in one file) no later than March 1, 2013.
Oklahoma City: CoxConnectsOKC@cox.com
Tulsa: CoxConnectsTulsa@cox.com

Timeline
March 1, 2013

Applications must be submitted electronically by deadline.

Late and/or incomplete applications will not be accepted.

May 2013

Funding determination by Cox Connects Advisory Council

August 2013

Grant recipient notification

September 2013

Cox Connects Advisory Council presents grant checks

For additional information about the Cox Connects Foundation Innovation in Education
program, contact the Cox Connects Grant Administrators at (918) 286-4546 or (405) 2865402, or visit www.coxconnectsok.com.

Participants in program:
The Innovative Science Lab will service approximately 25 fifth grade students each year.
These bright-eyed fifth graders range in age from 9-11 years old. The socioeconomics of my
class range widely from low income/homeless to middle class with two higher educated parents.
They are at a point in their lives where they are finding their new interests and losing interest in
school. Fifth graders are still kids at heart but are growing into pre-teens. My current class is
very energetic and bubbly.
Meet my current class, a typical fifth grade class in my school:
15 girls & 11 boys
One autistic student with sensory processing disorder
A few students with ADHD
Six kids receiving special services in gifted education
Two kids receiving other special services
Multiple students who see only one parent
A girl whose mother is gone for a month at a time for work & whose grandmother is
fighting breast cancer for the third time
A girl whose father is fighting over in Iraq
A boy who lived in his car until they moved in with older sister and her family
As you can see, a wide variety and multitude of student need innovative, hands-on
activities that create engaging lessons.
Program Activities:
August 2014 Grant is awarded.
September 2014 The grant check is received. The equipment will be ordered from the various
locations. The surveys will be given at the end of the first nine weeks (Around the third week of
September.) When the equipment arrives in the classroom, each piece of equipment will be
labled with Northridge Elementary and Cox.
November & December 2014 - The first part of the Innovative Science Lab is a STEM kit
entitled Dont lose your marbles. To have enough kits for small groups, I need 7 kits. If the
groups are too big, the kids will not get adequate time with the kits. These kits integrate a fifth
grade standard, measuring and classifying angles, and a Nextgen Science standard, kinetic &
potential energy, together in an age appropriate kit that allows students to explore how angles
affect the rate of an object and distance an object can travel. This hands-on kit also provides the
necessary equipment for students to build and test a model roller coaster. According to our
national priorities, girls need to become more invovled in STEM. What better way than
incorporating math and science together in a hands-on, fun activity! Teachers have a lot of
information to teach and when they find different parts of their curriculum that can tie together
directly it helps, just like angles and energy. Through this phase, kids will be encouraged to share
ingenuity and imagination by using knowledge of energy to build a rollercoaster. After the unit is
finished, a blog entry will be written about the activities and acknowledging Cox as the provider.
January/February 2015 - Part two of the project is a microscope lab. After talking with a
Middle school science teacher about what their students need background knowledge in and
looking at standards, microscopes are needed. The one digital microscope will be used to project
specimens on the board and teach the students how to use a microscope and what they are looking
at. As the students are learning by watching me model, they will be in small groups working with
their microscopes and practicing. Through the microscope unit, the kids will learn the parts of

microscopes and different cells: plants and animals. The microscopes will also be used when we
look at soil from different ecosystems.
May 2015 - The third and final phase to this Innovative Science Lab includes triple beam
balances. One of the biggest Next Generation science standards includes measuring matter,
specifically with a triple beam balance. This year, I have used videos found online and
worksheets trying to help kids gain an understanding of using a triple beam balance; but without
the hands-on experience of actually measuring with one, the kids become disengaged and bored
with a worksheet. With the completion of phase three, the student follow-up survey and parent
survey will be given. Survey results will be reported to Cox, along with a Thank you.
The great part about this grant is that the equipment will last for multiple years. I can use
this equipment for years to come, allowing many more students to experience the hands-on
opportunities the innovative science lab provides.
Objectives & Outcomes:
There are multiple objectives that I would like to see met throughout the course of the
program but there are two main objectives.
1. The first objective is to increase the level of engagement within my classroom. I want to
engage students, males and females, in hands-on science activities that help in a variety of
academic areas.
2. The second objective is to improve science test scores. With the Next Gen science
standards going into effect next year, we need to have equipment that allows us to teach
these science standards.
Although Im embarrassed to share my test scores, I feel like it is important to share the
data. Looking at my classes test results over the past two years, I can see that there is a problem
in the science curriculum. As a part of the second objective-improving test scores-it is pertinent
that these learners have the equipment needed.
Class Average

Fall 2012
48%

Winter 2012
20%

Spring 2013
46%

OCCT 2013
56%

Fall 2013
43%

Winter 2013
35%

Science Scores
100.0%
80.0%
60.0%
40.0%
20.0%
0%

Fall 2012

Winter 2012 Spring 2013 OCCT 2013

Fall 2013

Winter 2013

Evaluation of program:
The programs will be measured in multiple ways. Looking at the first objective of
engaging students, we will measure this program by looking to see if students are engaged by
observing in the classroom. The school administrators and myself will be monitoring students
engagement during all of the lessons. Everyone wants to see a class that is participating in the
assigned activities and actually enjoying themselves. You can walk through a room and know if
the kids are engaged and having fun.

The second objective is to measure test score results and improved those results. Test
scores are a quantitative measure and will be tracked easily using benchmark scores. As you can
see, test scores have been considerably low over the past few years. With the push of Next
Generation Science standards, we need to be prepared to teach the curriculum. You cannot teach
a science lab without science equipment! The unit tests will be tracked as a formal evaluation
tool, along with district given-benchmarks, and state tests. Not only will these scores be
compared to previous scores, they will also be compared to the scores of other fifth grade classes
within the building and the district.
Another way this program will be evaluated is through student and parent surveys. I
already have students and parents complete end of the year surveys. The survey for next year will
happen twice and will have a section specifically pertaining to science. One survey will happen
before the equipment is purchased. It will get a feel for the students attitudes towards science.
After the equipment is implemented into the daily classroom and has been used for a considerable
amount of time, another survey will be given to measure students attitudes towards science now
that a more hands-on approach will have been used in the classroom. The survey results will be
able to show if students are engaged and enjoying science.
The last evaluation tool used will be two-fold. During each of the labs, the kids will use
the iPads in our class to explain what they did, how they did it, and why. The videos that they
make will be used to share the lab experiences with Cox and the outside world by sharing the
videos on my classroom blog. The videos will also be used as an assessment of student mastery.
Even though school/district administrators and myself will be evaluating this program,
Cox will be invited into the classroom to see the students working with the equipment. By
spending time in the classroom, observers can see if students are engaged in activities and
learning is taking place. Throughout the years, I will continue to blog and tweet things we are
doing in the classroom. Anytime we use the Innovative Science Lab, students or myself will
share what, how, and why we are using the equipment. We will also hash-tag or include Cox in
those posts.