Quote:
Originally Posted by JaneYoung
If you have $1,000,000 - where would you focus? Why? How? What resources would need to be in place? What resources would need to be created?
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I like these questions, Andrew, and may take a shot at all of them after I doing some thinking. In the meantime, I've countered with my own.  The ripple in the pond effect.
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Oh Oh ... I'm ready to play the spend a million dollars from the government game

.... may I?
and for the record I'm after the "FIRST ideals" here not necessarily "FIRST programs"
No one gets anything without applying for it. Money toward an unwilling or unprepared participant is a complete crapshoot and I'm all about eliminating as many unknowns as possible and inspiring as many students as possible. Now, encouraging folks to apply and educating them on the front end is fine. Helping them fill out the application is also fine as long as you are doing this "with" folks instead of "for" them.
So, create a program with an application process using the types of questions we've seen on NASA grant applications.
Now, what the participant would apply for ...
"STEM/Robotics Education Grants" $1M awarded over a two year period.
Category 1 - K-6 STEM Program Grants (may or may not be "robotics") - up to $5K each. This might be a curricular or co-curricular or after school STEM program run by a school and or school district. A second year may be applied for if all grant conditions are satisfied and further need is demonstrated.
Category 2 - Robotics Curriculum Grants (middle or high school)- up to $5K each. This is specifically to fund a course in the school, schools, or district. A second year may be applied for if all grant conditions are satisfied and further need is demonstrated.
Category 3 - Robotics Competition Grants (middle or high school)- up to $6K each. This is specifically to fund a robotics competition team or teams. The ceiling on this grant is $3K UNLESS:
a. The school or district has applied for and received a Category 1 OR Category 2 Grant the year before OR it can document and prove it already has a viable K-6 STEM program in place OR robotics course(s) operating in the school/district. Meeting this criteria will increase the available grant award to $4500.
b. Available grant award for Category 3 can reach the full $6K only when the school or district can document/prove it has both a viable K-6 STEM program in place AND a middle and or high school robotics course in place.
A second year of Category 3 may be applied for if all conditions are met and need is shown, however the second year ceiling is $2K.
All applications must include approvals/statements of support/signatures from at least one school staff member, school principal, and district superintendent or a direct agent of his/her office. In addition, all Category 2 grants application must include a letter of support from the school board that the course is already/will be approved. No Category 2 funds will be awarded until the course is board approved.
That's how I'd spend the million, you can all figure out how many schools/districts we may be able to reach with that.
