MA Micro-Grant Program

Supporting Strength-Based Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)

The Supporting Strength-Based SEL in MA micro-grant will provide access to the Devereux Student Strengths Assessments (DESSA) and accompanying intervention strategies, available through Apperson’s award-winning Evo Social/Emotional Learning cloud-based application. Five micro-grants will be provided with a value of up to $10,000 each to be used towards the Evo Social/Emotional online assessment and intervention system and accompanying professional development for assessing SEL skills during the 2016-2017 school year.

 

About The Grant      Application Steps       Am I Eligible?      Apply Now

About the Grant

Apperson and the Devereux Center for Resilient Children are proud to announce “Supporting Strength-BasedSocial-Emotional Learning (SEL) in MA” micro-grant program for assessing SEL skills during the 2016-17 school year. With the help of recent legislation and the efforts of groups like the Social-Emotional Learning Alliance for Massachusetts (www.sel4ma.org), social and emotional learning (SEL) is gaining momentum in Massachusetts, and nationwide, particularly over the past few years.

This initiative is intended to help expand the reach and effectiveness of Social & Emotional Learning through strength-based assessment and intervention across the state of Massachusetts.

“Collectively, we believe that by providing opportunities to groups that are motivated to implement social & emotional learning but would benefit from technical assistance and support, we can help champion the Social & Emotional Learning movement.” DESSA Author Paul LeBuffe

The Supporting Strength-Based SEL in MA micro-grant will provide access to the Devereux Student Strengths Assessments (DESSA) and accompanying intervention strategies, available through Apperson’s award-winning Evo Social/Emotional Learning cloud-based application. Recipients of the grants can also expect to be a part of a professional learning community and provided a forum to help start or steer their SEL efforts through an advisory group of SEL experts. Five micro-grants will be provided with a value of up to $10,000 each to be used towards the Evo Social/Emotional online assessment and intervention system and accompanying professional development.

Why a micro-grant? Micro-grant funded projects are focused on providing benefit to a community as opposed to an individual. Apperson and Devereux hope that during the application process, school districts will discuss their most pressing social-emotional needs and ultimately unify to address them and commit to assessing progress toward shared goals. The hope is, through shared interests and collaboration, participants will use this process to bring new partners into their efforts and build community support for advancing social-emotional learning goals, long term.

A bidders conference will be held on August 11 th at 3pm Eastern Time to allow for any questions that may arise during the application process. Sign up: http://apperson.adobeconnect.com/mass-micro-grant/event/registration.html

About Apperson

Apperson’s Evo SEL is based on the Devereux Student Strengths Assessment (DESSA), a standardized, strengths-based measure of SEL competencies such as self-awareness, self-management, relationship skills and decision-making. Apperson provides the online platform for administering the DESSA and DESSA Mini universal screeners to quickly identify students’ SEL competencies. It also provides resources and activities to address SEL gaps. Version 2.0, now available, provides the data needed to help SEL program administrators measure the impact of their programs and to help educators understand students’ SEL needs.

About Devereux Center for Resilient Children

The Devereux Center for Resilient Children (DCRC) is part of Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health, a leading nonprofit and behavioral healthcare organization. DCRC focuses on the development of research-informed and resilience-enhancing resources that support educators, parents and other child-serving professionals in assessing and strengthening the social and emotional competencies of children from K through 8th Grade, as well as in the adults who care for them.

Application Steps

  1. Learn. Learn about Apperson Evo SEL the DESSA and micro-grant eligible categories.
  2. Apply. Apply for a Micro-grant in advance of the opportunity; retroactive requests will not be accepted. All requests must be received prior to August 31st, 2016.
  3. Wait. Wait for Grant Application Committee to contact you via email within approximately 10 business days to confirm the status of your application.
  4. Approval. If your Micro-grant application is approved, you will be contacted to join a mandatory acceptance webinar tentatively scheduled for late September 2016.
  5. Report. Check-ins with the Advisory Group will be scheduled throughout the School Year to monitor progress and assist with any ongoing questions. In addition, within 30 days following the conclusion of the project/ opportunity, submit your report.

    You will be required to submit a written blog, case study (ppt) or video post, describing: what the micro-grant enabled you to do, how your school/project benefited from the grant; and any longer term impact it has had.

    *The blog may be posted for the public unless you specify otherwise.

Am I Eligible?

Apperson Evo SEL the DESSA and micro-grant eligible categories:

  1. Apperson’s Evo Social/Emotional. Features the Devereux Student Strengths Assessment (DESSA), a standardized, strengths-based measure of SEL competencies such as self-awareness, self-management, relationship skills and decision-making. Apperson provides the online platform for administering the DESSA and DESSA Mini universal screeners to quickly identify students’ SEL competencies. It also provides resources and activities to address SEL gaps. Evo works great with an RTI Model approach to help educators understand students’ SEL needs and respond with intervention strategies and also allows you to measure the impact of SEL programs.
  2. Product Licenses. Access to Devereux Student Strengths Assessment via Apperson’s Evo SEL Assessment and Intervention Online Platform.

    The Evo Social/Emotional online tool includes access to the Devereux Student Strengths Assessments in both the (8-item Mini) and (72-item DESSA) as well as competency-based intervention strategies and foundational practices to support social-emotional skill building. Pricing for the Evo Social/Emotional online tool starts at ($2.50 per student) for a 12 month license.

  3. Professional development and support. Attend an online training course and receive ongoing webinar training that covers a variety of topics in addition to a support forum of experienced users from across the country.

    In addition to the introductory SEL Forum you will be provided a variety of webinar supports throughout the school year that will dive deeper into the following topics: An introduction to SEL and its importance, Conducting useful observations, Completing the DESSA/DESSA mini and Interpreting Results, Interpreting DESSA results – Individual and Classroom Profiles, DESSA Strategies – The Foundational Practices, DESSA Strategies – Teacher Reflection, Action and Evidence Based Strategies, DESSA Strategies – Universal, Group, Individual, and Home Strategies, Progress Monitoring with the DESSA-mini, Using DESSA Results for Outcome Evaluation and to Guide Program Improvement.

  4. Eligibility Requirements. You are eligible if…you are either a school (public, private or charter) or a school district in the state of Massachusetts. Receipt of the grant is subject to further confirmation of eligibility. Five micro-grants will be provided totaling up to $50,000 across the state of Massachusetts for the 2016-17 school year beginning in September. Funding is determined by size of district, how many students will be assessed, (other criteria)

Apply Now


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