All three of my kids either graduated from or currently attend Chicago public schools. CPS schools are chronically underfunded and things have never been worse than now - major cutbacks are in the offing. Many schools are turning to private sources to raise money. One way the two CPS schools we’re associated with hope to do this is through the online Pepsi Refresh challenge - the top ten projects getting the most votes get funded. Detailed info is provided below; the short version is, I’d appreciate it if you could take a few minutes to cast an online vote for the following. No money or purchase of Pepsi products is required:
Ravenswood Elementary
Northside College Prep High School
You can vote daily through the end of the month; you can vote for up to ten projects a day. This is a great cause - your help is greatly appreciated.
**Northside College Prep, Ravenswood School Compete in Internet Grant Contest to Save Programs **
Perennial state budget gaps and antiquated and inconsistent funding formulas leave few options for parents and teachers striving to create the best public education for Chicago’s children. Grant writing and parent-led fundraising help, but it is extremely difficult for any lone public school to meet their growing shortfalls, especially as many foundations offer grants only to entire districts, and individually, only to charter schools.
That’s why two north side Chicago Public Schools, Northside College Prep High School and Ravenswood Elementary, are looking to the private sector and a new, popular nationwide web-based grant contest for schools, non-profits and individuals – the Pepsi Refresh campaign. The campaign consists of results-driven proposals and a virtual popularity contest that requires aggressive publicity and social networking.
“We are literally out begging in the streets for money,” says Ravenswood’s Art and Magnet Cluster Lead Teacher Catherine Conde.
Northside, a highly regarded and consistently nationally ranked selective enrollment high school, and Ravenswood, a fine and performing arts magnet cluster Pre-K-8th grade school, are competing in separate categories and have joined efforts to generate and share votes. Out of hundreds of entries, Northside, $250,000 applicant, needs to rank in the top 2 and Ravenswood, $25,000 applicant, in the top 10 in their respective categories by May 31 to win a grant.
Northside’s goal is to leverage technology to promote communication, facilitate collaboration and increase student learning by creating 21st Century Classrooms. Administrators, faculty, and students are working towards creating a 1:1 computing environment in which each student will use a tablet notebook as a regular part of learning in each of their classes. This grant award would fund technology department positions and the scale up of an existing 1:1 computing cohort from 50 students to 120.
At Ravenswood, parents frustrated that an arts magnet school can only afford a half-time music teacher are pitching Pepsi Refresh for help. Building on the success of its nationally recognized art and music classroom integration program, Ravenswood plans to use the grant to promote math and science learning through music and to bring back its popular choirs.
Voters are given 10 picks per day but can use only one vote per project. This has inspired supporters to swap votes with other projects in non-competing categories and leave behind encouraging comments or gentle prodding for more in-kind support. Despite their relatively close addresses, Northside and Ravenswood only partnered after Technology Director Victoria Andrews noticed that many Ravenswood supporters were voting and leaving notes on her project site. A partnership was soon formed. Because of the Internet format, unique alliances emerge; the Chicago schools are supporting high-school bands in Michigan and New Jersey and voting to bring back the entire fine arts program at an elementary school in Savannah, Georgia. Alliances span categories as well; a project to help the elderly care for pets backs a project to buy prom dresses for low-income high school students, for example.
Project coordinators and grant recipients may never meet in person, but their common need to creatively fund the nation’s schools and the many deserving non-profits that help Americans of all ages is what joins together states and causes. Foremost, the public’s participation is what makes this grant contest unique. For Northside and Ravenswood, it’s a crucial opportunity to reveal the strain on underfunded schools.
The public is encouraged to vote daily for Ravenswood School’s music program at Refresh Everything and for Northside College Prep at Refresh Everything . Every vote counts! Sign-up is simple and requires no purchase of Pepsi products.