FMU Center of Excellence Announces Research and Professional Development Grants

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1 FMU Center of Excellence Announces Research and Professional Development Grants September 25, 2010 Dear Colleagues: The Francis Marion University Center of Excellence (COE) to Prepare Teachers of Children of Poverty is pleased to announce that funds are available and will be awarded this academic year for faculty research and professional development projects that address issues related to the education of children of poverty. The Call for Proposals and Guidelines is attached. Successful COE Professional Development Grants will be awarded to FMU faculty on a competitive basis. Projects will be funded at amounts of up to $2,500 for the academic year. The Fall 2010 deadline for submitting completed grant applications to the COE Research and Professional Development Committee is October 22, Detailed guidelines for submitting COE Higher Education Research and Professional Development Grant proposals are attached and are available on line at Please contact me if you have any questions. Best wishes, Dr. Cindi Nixon, Chairperson COE Research and Professional Development Grants Committee

2 The Francis Marion University Center of Excellence to Prepare Teachers of Children solicits proposals for projects that address issues related to the education of children of poverty. Grant awards will be recommended primarily on the basis of merit rather than on the amount requested, perceived size of the project, or number of Principal Investigators (PIs) or Co-Principal Investigators (Co-PIs). Grant Categories and Overall Guidelines Research of Children of Poverty Grants of up to $2,500 per grant. Research designed to study the population to validate issues regarding: Higher Education Research & Professional Development Proposal Guidelines Educating Children of Poverty in the Pee Dee area educational community Educating Children of Poverty in the State-wide educational community The submission deadline for awards is October 22, Award decisions will be announced November 12, Final Project Completion Report for the grant is due May 2, Submit proposal package by October 22, 2010 Grant Proposals, Center of Excellence, 520 Francis Marion Road, Florence, SC Proposal Guidelines and Restrictions 1. COE Research and Professional Development grants are open to FMU faculty. Proposals may be submitted by an individual or group from FMU department/s or school/s. 2. All Co-PIs must play a significant role in the proposed project. 3. PIs must submit a Project Completion Report to the COE Research and Professional Development Committee at the completion of the project. 4. Grantees must present project findings at a COE Conference within a calendar year of receipt of funding. 5. Preference will be given to projects that potentially will benefit the most children of poverty. 6. The committee will not recommend the funding of dissertation or thesis research. 7. The committee will not generally recommend expenditures for typing manuscripts, papers, etc. It is assumed that each department will provide office personnel and supplies to cover these types of expenses. Application Format (Use templates as provided) 1. COE Grant Application Cover Sheet (Proposal must include all required signatures.) 2. Principal and Co-Principal Investigator s Previous Experience (List your previous experiences working with children of poverty or teachers of children of poverty.) Narrative (Write the narrative proposal into the template provided and using the guidelines and headings listed below. Length is restricted to four single-spaced pages of text. Note that the significance of the purpose, objectives, and expected outcomes of the project must be clear and supported by information that is understandable to the non-expert.) 3. Project Purpose (What is the purpose of your project?) 4. Summary (Summarize how your project will be implemented.) 5. Project Location (Where will your project be implemented?) 6. Background Information/Literature Review (Include sufficient background to explain the project clearly to the nonexpert. The literature cited (APA or MLA format) must directly or indirectly support the significance of the proposed research or scholarly work.) 7. Methodology a. Objectives/Expected Outcomes (Name the specific and measureable objectives for your project.) b. Procedures/Methods (Align the procedures you will use with each objective. Include the role of PI/Co-PIs.) c. Schedule/Timeline (Show the approximate time frame for the implementation/completion of each objective.) d. Assessments (Specify the assessment(s) that will be used to measure the success of each objective. Include the role of PI and co-pis.) 8. Budget Summary and Justification Form (Describe the specific purpose of requested funds for items listed on Budget Summary page of COE Research/Professional Development Grant Application Form.)

3 Higher Education Research & Professional Development 1. Application Cover Sheet PROGRAM NAME Darkness to Light: Child Sexual Abuse Training for Teachers of Children of Poverty PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION Principal Investigator (PI): Printed name: Address: Tracy Meetze CEMC 220 Telephone: 1558 Signature: Fax Co- Principal Investigators (Co-PIs): Printed name Signature: Printed name Signature: Printed name Signature: Printed name Signature: Department Chair: Printed name J. Ron Faulkenberry Signature: Recommendation of COE Research/Professional Development Committee: Approved Denied Approved by: Cindi Nixon COE Research and Professional Development Committee Chair Date

4 2. Principal and Co-Principal Investigators Previous Experiences (List your previous experiences working with children of poverty or teachers of children of poverty. Reviewer Comments Score 5 3. Project Purpose/Goal (What is the purpose of your project? What do you hope to accomplish?) Reviewer Comments Score 25 The purpose of this project is to educate teachers in a small, rural, impoverished, partner district about child sexual abuse prevention. Our goal is to provide 100% of the teachers in this district this training. This will put these teachers ahead of schedule, as all South Carolina teachers will be required to be trained by the year It is our hope that in addition to merely training the teachers their knowledge and awareness of child sexual abuse will be increased. A test will be used that was developed by Darkness to Light for evaluation purposes. This will be given as a

5 pre/post test to measure growth of knowledge. 4. Project Summary (Summarize how your project will be implemented.) Reviewer Comments Score 10 Drs. Bausmith and Meetze are certified facilitators for the training. They will train teachers using the curriculum provided by Darkness to Light. Bruce Moseley with the South Carolina State Department of Education has agreed to assist with arranging the district, time, and place of the training. 5. Project Location/Sample (Where and with whom will your project be implemented?) Reviewer Comments Score 5 We will work with Bruce Moseley with the Office of School Leadership. He spearheads this initiative, and he has verbally agreed to help in any way gain access to a partner district. However, this initiative will be launched in a small, rural,

6 impoverished, partner district. 6. Background Information/Literature Review (Include sufficient background to explain the project clearly to the non-expert. The literature cited -APA or MLA format- must directly or indirectly support the significance of the proposed research or scholarly work.) Reviewer Comments Score 10 Darkness to Light has a mission to empower people to prevent child sexual abuse. The goal is to raise awareness by educating adults as to the steps they can take to prevent, recognize, and react responsibly to child sexual abuse. Founded in 2001 in Charleston, South Carolina, Darkness to Light is now widespread in 48 states. One in four girls and one in five boys is sexually abused before their 18 th birthday. It is especially important that teachers of children of poverty receive this training, The risk for sexual abuse triples for students whose parents are not in the workforce. Children in rural areas are almost two times more likely to be identified as victims of child sexual abuse. (Sedlack, 2010). Reference: Sedlack, A.J., Mettenburg, J., Basena, M., Peetta, I., McPherson, K., Greene, A., and Li, S. (2010). Fourth National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect (NIS-4): Report to Congress, Executive Summary. Washington, DC: US Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families Social Issues Affecting America s Children. Retrieved October 18, 2010 from

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8 7. Methodology Project Goal: The goal of this project is to train 100% of all teachers in a small, rural, partner distirct in the Darkness to Light child sexual abuse curriculum to help educate them as to the steps they can take to prevent, recognize, and react responsibly to child sexual abuse. (What changes are expected in your school, teachers, students, and/or parents as a result of this project?) a. Objectives/Expected Outcomes (Name the specific and measureable objectives for your project. What specific outcomes are expected for teachers, students and/or parents? One objective may align with multiple activities OR multiple objectives may be aligned with one activity.) 25 POINTS b. Procedures/Methods (What activities are planned to help you accomplish each objective? Align the procedures you will use with each objective. Include the role of PI and co-pis.) 25 POINTS c. Schedule/ Timeline (When will each activity occur? Show the approximate time frame for the implementation/ completion of each objective.) 5 POINTS d. Assessments (Specify the assessment(s) that will be used to measure the success of each objective. Include the role of PI and co-pis.) 25 POINTS Score Score Score Score Score Reviewer s Comments e. Outcomes COMPLETE AT PROJECT CONCLUSION ONLY (Report the outcomes of each activity. Specifically report the degree to which the objectives were met as measured by the Assessments.) We will train 100% of the teachers in a small rural partner district in the Darkness to Light curriculum. Drs. Bausmith and Meetze have had the facilitator training and will provide the training for these teacher using the Facilitator s Manual and videos. November-December 2010 We will calculate the percentage of teachers trained in the district. Teachers of children of poverty in a small rural district will increase their knowledge of child sexual abuse awareness. Through the curriculum, teachers will be given tools to recognize and react to child sexual abuse. November/December 2010 Darkness to Light has a test that has been used in previous evaluations. We will use this test as a pre/post test to measure growth in knowledge.

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10 Higher Education Research & Professional Development 8. Application Budget Summary/Justification Cost of Line Items: Categorize and list all anticipated expenditures. Please be sure to allow for sales tax and shipping. Salaries Line Item Requested Grant Funds Budget Justification Employer Contributions Equipment Materials/Supplies Darkness to Light Workbooks $10 each $2500 Workbooks are needed to complete the training. Food Travel Other (Explain) TOTAL PROJECT COSTS

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