The Reach of Modest Grant Writing in a Rural Oklahoma District

The Reach of Modest Grant Writing in a Rural Oklahoma District

Every district can support students with grant funds. Here’s how.

By Tanya Jones

Reprinted with permission from the December 2023 issue of School Administrator magazine, published by AASA, The School Superintendents Association.

In the rural, northeastern corner of Oklahoma roughly 60 miles from Tulsa is the picturesque city of Tahlequah. The foothills of the Ozark mountains surround our community, and an active Native American population keeps tribal traditions alive.

As superintendent of Tahlequah Public Schools, I and my team are filling some critical gaps between needs and revenues. My small grants team generates nearly $8 million annually from local, state, and federal grants and community partners. Every year we receive multiple small external donations of perhaps $500 each and several large grants that generate $150,000 yearly.

Our goal is to help vulnerable children and families, many of whom live in poverty, through enriching academic programs, providing for basic needs, offering mental health services, and much more. That mission keeps us motivated and busy. The four-member team, five when you include me (a former director of grants and federal programs in the district), help write, track, and oversee all grants. Everyone has other responsibilities as well. For years, we have successfully developed and managed grants. You can, too.

Rigorous Review

Several years ago, we set our sights on improving literacy and sought a new large multiyear competitive grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. We knew competition was stiff and that pulling together a large grant would take months of effort. So before we invest the time and effort for a full-fledged application, we vet the grant and grantor.

We look at three areas to check the “fit”:

1 Review the grantor’s mission and goals. Some 60% of our 3,600 students are Native Americans who represent nearly 30 tribes, and for many of them, reading scores were low. These demographics are key targets for competitive grants.

2 Check the typical size of grants awarded and your budget. Federal grants can offer years of stable funding, which is a necessity for districtwide reforms like our preK-12 literacy initiative. Our budget proposal included a

new curriculum and professional development for teachers in the science of reading.

3 Research the fine print.

Some grants have qualifications such as requiring the district to partner with a community organization or to serve a specific population. Fortunately, our research revealed that this grant was a fit. At that point, our attitude was, “We have nothing to lose and everything to gain.”

Keys to Success

The three keys to success are a deep knowledge about your school district, a vision, and hard work. Everyone starts somewhere!

Smart grant writers create a profile that includes basic facts about the district like demographics, community statistics, achievement data, and survey data to help with every grant application. You can recycle this information with each grant. Find a mentor with grant-

writing experience and seek advice from community coalitions that can help you locate and write grants. Hire a professional grant writer to work with you on large-scale projects. This is not easy work. If you do not get funded, ask for feedback! Failure is one of our greatest teachers, too. Persevere!

Meaningful Grants

Mental health is a priority for many districts. In Tahlequah, we’ve found grants that support staff positions, including counselors, social workers, school resource officers, student advocates, nurses, and academic coaches. Grants provided us with “calm rooms” for students, programs to help at-risk youth, and an outreach center. We also help families enroll in federal assistance programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as SNAP, and assist families with basic needs through CARE teams, food pantries, and backpack programs.

This is not nearly a complete list of the services and staff we have provided through the braiding of funds. Amazingly, the district has sustained many of these programs for years. ■

Tanya Jones is superintendent of Tahlequah Public Schools. Reach out to her via email at jonest@ tahlequahschools.org