Learn and Serve America School-Based STEM FY 2008

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The Corporation for National and Community Service (the Corporation) announces the availability of approximately $2 million to qualified organizations to provide financial resources, training, and other assistance to local education agencies (LEAs) to implement service-learning projects as part of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) curriculum in grades 6-12. These funds will be awarded to an estimated 3 to 4 eligible applications with awards ranging from approximately $500,000 to $800,000 for a project period of up to 3 years. Eligible applicants include Grantmaking Entities (GMEs, which are public or private non-profit organizations that can make subgrants in two or more states) that are not currently Learn and Serve America grantees. A key role for GMEs is to manage subgrantees at the LEA level through frequent communication, training and technical assistance, and financial oversight. The 2008 School-Based competition is intended to bring service-learning that addresses STEM (science, technology, engineering, or math) objectives into high-poverty schools that have little service-learning history. The focus responds to the Corporation’s strategic goals to spread service-learning to 50% of K-12 schools and to avail many more youth from disadvantaged circumstances of service-learning opportunities. Consequently, applicants should focus their awarding of subgrants to schools in which more than half the students receive free or reduced price lunches. A crucial part of a grantee’s role is to ensure high-quality implementation among subgrantees and to promote effective and efficient use of resources at the subgrantee level. Specifically, this role involves monitoring of program quality, overseeing LEA expenditures, identifying grantee and subgrantee staff roles, and providing needed training and technical assistance. Successful applicants will describe a program design that provides student participants with the opportunity to: • Use the knowledge and skills of one or more STEM discipline(s) to identify and address community problems; • Collaborate with peers and community members to set and achieve goals; and • Develop skills and attitudes useful for the workplace and for participating in civic affairs.

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