Purpose

District Investment Grants (formerly School Improvement Grants) are awarded over a multi-year time period to support systemic, long-term change in the Arlington Public Schools. These grants focus on multi-pronged initiatives that have significant potential to improve learning and develop a strong, supportive community for students at the elementary, middle, or high school level and cannot currently be supported by the tax-funded school budget.

Amount

$25,000-$100,000 (over multiple years)

Who Can Apply

District Investment Grants are by invitation only and are created from discussions between AEF and Arlington Public Schools leadership.

Recent District Investment Grants

  • Safe & Supportive Schools (2017– ): In the first year of this three-year partnership, AEF awarded $100,000 to fund Youth Mental Health First Aid training for 300 staff as well as ongoing work to refine/implement each school’s Safe & Supportive Schools action plan.  This grant continues the initial Safe & Supportive Schools self-assessment work that AEF helped to fund in 2016. AEF has committed to investing $200,000 over three years for this initiative. Learn more.
  • Gibbs Planning Grant (2017): A $30,000 grant provided the necessary funds for planning stipends and professional development that enabled the new Gibbs staff to plan for a unique, 6th grade school with social emotional support, project-based learning, and a strong community.
  • Teacher Leadership Grant (2017): A $30,000 grant expanded the Teacher Leadership initiative in the Arlington Public Schools that offers training, experience and opportunities for teachers to become leaders in the reading and writing content areas. These teacher leaders provided teacher-led professional development for their colleagues, both within the school day and at the after-school district-wide professional development sessions.
  • Technology Initiative (2013-2015): In 2013 the Arlington Public School district was struggling to keep pace with trends and find the budget to bring 21st century technology into classrooms. The $190,000 AEF Technology Initiative grant helped the district create significant new technology capacity, from state-of-the-art facilities and equipment to teacher training and curriculum development.  Learn more.