This grant program has been fully expended and is now closed.
Community Foundation Sonoma County is honored to be one of 8 community foundations across California to participate in the Expanded Learning Advancing Educational Equity (ELAEE) initiative. This statewide effort is designed to provide academic and socio-emotional support for marginalized youth in the K-12 system through high-quality expanded learning programming.
In Sonoma County, data has shown that our young people carry a significant emotional burden due to multiple years of disaster. Coupling these disasters with a global pandemic has only exacerbated the mental, emotional, and academic well-being of our youth.
We also know that local disasters and the pandemic have taken a particularly heavy toll on BIPOC youth. School shutdowns, the digital divide, and limited access to expanded learning opportunities have compounded racial disparities in learning and achievement. The Portrait of Sonoma County sheds light on the long-term impacts of disparities in education, with only 63.8% of Latino residents holding a high school diploma compared to 90% of white residents. Left unaddressed, these opportunity gaps will translate into ever-widening achievement gaps.
Grant Program Overview
Program Elements
The ELAEE initiative aims to close the systemic opportunity gaps that disproportionately impact BIPOC youth. This grants program aims to increase access and/or enhance the quality of expanded learning programming for youth furthest from these opportunities. Programs can be delivered to K-12 youth in the following ways:
- During the school year (before, after, or during school)
- During school breaks (e.g., summer, winter, spring, or intersession)
Ideas for the use of these funds could include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Expanding program reach to increase attendance of marginalized students
- Bilingual/bicultural outreach to families
- Addressing transportation limitations: stipends to families, providing transportation, etc.
- Deepening impact of services to existing students
- Increasing hours of contact with students
- Lowering student to teacher ratios
- Field trips, mentorships, internships, etc.
- Increasing student engagement with programs
- Creative ways of promoting regular attendance
- Project-based learning opportunities
- Enhancing program quality
- Curriculum development
- Integrating academic and social-emotional support within the curriculum
- Professional development opportunities
Data Collection
As part of a larger cohort of community foundations receiving ELAEE state funding, grant reporting and data collection will be more rigorous than CFSC typically requires. The following outlines the data collection requirements for all applicants for ELAEE funding:
To demonstrate that focal populations were served, grantees will need to report aggregate information on the number of youth served, including demographic information. Grantees must also establish how they advanced equity by addressing marginalized students’ learning loss, isolation, and/or social emotional needs. Consequently, grantees will provide information on the specific types of services or programming offered and any specific areas of focus, including:
- Services or programs increasing access to out-of-school time programming among focal communities –Aggregate data will be collected from grantees once, at the end of the grant period. This data includes:
- Target participant demographics: Race, Gender, Age, Grade Level, SES, EL status.
- Attendance metrics- number of students served and the number of days of service provided.
- Services or programs promoting learning acceleration and social emotional support – information about the types of specific services or programming provided to meet the academic and social emotional needs of students. Categories include:
- Academic support
- Social emotional learning
- Enrichment (e.g., STEAM, Environmental Education, etc.)
- Additional funds leveraged – information about other funds, including public dollars, used to support high-quality expanded learning opportunities. Categories for leveraged funds include:
- Public grants – ASES/21st CCLC/AB86/ELO-P
- Private grants – e.g., community foundations, individual donors
- Student/parent fees
- Other
- Progress toward grantee-defined outcomes – using a scale such as met/approaching/not yet started, feedback will be collected about progress toward locally-defined goals. Progress metrics will likely include:
- Serving more youth (increasing participation rates, especially for focal students)
- Enhancing program offerings (e.g., curricula, field trips)
- Deepen partnerships and alignment through direct and systems level support
The ELAEE evaluation team from Public Profit will host webinars and on-demand technical assistance sessions with grantees to assure that grantees are familiar with the reporting requirements and able to provide the information requested. Community Foundation Sonoma County will also be on hand to provide support as needed for data collection.
Grant Terms
Timeline
The ELAEE grants can be applied to programs offered during the following timeframes:
- 2022/2023 School Year (this can include programs specifically delivered during school hours, before/after school, winter/spring break, or intersessions)
- Summer 2023
Applicants to the ELAEE initiative can apply for programs delivered in any – or all – of the above time periods. Grant request amounts will be determined in advance in partnership with CFSC.
Funds must be expended by August of 2023, and final reports submitted 30 days after the end of program delivery.
This grant program has been fully expended and is now closed.
For questions about the ELAEE grant program, please contact:
