Since November 2016, District Grant Writer Emily Baur has helped Owensboro Public Schools secure nearly $2.6 million in grants, and she is excited for what could come through in 2021.
Perhaps the most significant grant is also the one that was by far the highest amount awarded. The Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy Grant totalled $631,250 and came from the Kentucky Department of Education.
“We were able to start funding a literacy person here at Central Office,” Baur said. “That was a new position that they have since kept. She was able to be kind of the center of literacy and oversee everything for the district. The grant got that started. That was a really big project we were excited about.”
Baur has submitted and application for the second round of that grant — worth $996,726 this time — and said they should find out in October if they will receive it.
In 2017, Baur helped facilitate Read to Achieve five grants totalling $1 million — with $200,000 each going to Cravens, Estes, Foust, Newton Parrish, and Sutton elementary schools. Each school received $50,000 per year for four years, meaning OPS is expected to be able to apply for them again this year.
Baur said the amount varies widely each year depending on what grants are available. She said the district usually applies for grants that focus on instruction purposes.
“People will come to me from the different schools and let me know what they need money for,” Baur said. “I’ve been doing this for a while (having worked at Green River Area Development District in the past) so I’m familiar with the community and the different resources, so that helps. I also always check the Kentucky Department of Education website — they post what’s new, the big grants. I talk with my boss Steve Bratcher to see if it’s a good fit. Usually it is, and we proceed.”
One grant Baur is currently working on and hopeful for is the Grow-Your-Own Program Start-Up Grant. It essentially is a program that helps interested students begin a path toward becoming a teacher, then bringing those individuals back to the district to join the workforce.
“Really the whole purpose is to grow your own teaching staff to reflect your student population,” Baur said. “We’re hoping to partner with Kentucky Wesleyan and set that up to where we can mentor the students who are interested, maybe have other students who may not have thought about going into teaching, if that is something they do want to pursue.”
Additionally, Baur is working on an Owensboro Health Grant via Foundation for Excellence that will focus on meeting the social and emotional needs of the students at each school.
Baur has already submitted or is currently working applications for various grants that focus on literacy, family support, and nutrition. A handful of other grant work is expected later this year.
