Little Huskies- The Best Start in Life

A White Paper for The Little Huskies

Lynde Oddo

“Giving children the best start in life is one of the most important investments we
can make. Research shows that early childhood is the developmental stage with the
greatest long-term impact on quality of life. Language develops rapidly from infancy
throughout the preschool years. Language delays and difficulties are best prevented and
addressed during these early years (Ball, J. (2007).” The goal is to improve the quality of
both teaching and learning through leadership and professional development as well as
increase the focus on multilingual communication and literacy. This white paper
discusses how to apply for grants that best fit The Little Huskies needs.

Taking Advantage of the most Important Years

As a non-profit childhood development center, The Little Huskies encourages and

supports each child's growth and development in a caring and nurturing environment. The
Little Huskies program is accredited by The National Association for the Education of
Young Children (NAEYC). Standards for the NAEYC include implementing
a curriculum that fosters all areas of child development: cognitive; emotional; language;
physical; and social. As well as using developmentally, culturally, and linguistically
appropriate effective teaching approaches. Expanding the multilingual communication
and literacy programs would better promote children’s learning and development along
with supporting families’ diverse needs and interests. Financial support for these
programs may be difficult to attain so grants may be a potential financial solution. I’m
providing you with the information needed to receive grants relating to multilingual
communication, literacy, as well as sufficient staff training to provide the best learning
environment for young minds.

“Research has shown that speech-language skills play a role in nearly all
developmental outcomes (Figure 1). Language is central to how children gain access to
cultural knowledge and learn to participate and grow within their cultures (Blank, Rose,
& Berlin, 1978; Heath, 1983). Linguistic, cognitive, social, and emotional competencies
are interdependent (Ball, J. (2007).”
Background/Problems

A growing body of evidence shows that early learning experiences are linked with later
school achievement, emotional and social well-being, fewer grade retentions, and
reduced incidences of juvenile delinquency and that these outcomes are all factors
associated with later adult productivity (Strickland, Riley-Ayers, 2006). Literacy
development starts early in life and is highly correlated with school achievement.

 All of the domains of a child's development —physical, social-emotional,

cognitive, language and literacy—are interrelated and interdependent.
 The more limited a child's experiences with language and literacy the
more likely he or she will have difficulty learning to read.
 Key early literacy predictors of reading and school success include oral
language, Alphabetic Code, and print knowledge.

An analysis of the research literature indicates specific skills and abilities of children
ages’ birth through 5 years that predict later reading outcomes.

Key predictive skills and abilities include:

 Oral language
listening comprehension, oral language vocabulary
 Alphabetic Code
alphabet knowledge, phonological/ phonemic awareness (the ability to
discriminate sounds in words), invented spelling
 Print Knowledge/Concepts
environmental print, concepts about print
 Other less significant indicators include: Rapid Automatic Naming (RAN); visual
memory; and visual perceptual abilities (Strickland, Riley-Ayers, 2006).

Because the children of The Little Huskies come from different cultural backgrounds,
prink knowledge/concepts of the multiple languages that are spoken at home are
displayed in these HighScope classrooms. This attributes to developing and learning
literacy without the children even knowing it. Adding additional resources such as
listening comprehension tools and activities will be resourceful. Adding new and diverse
books to the library will be educational. Having additional training on how to better teach
multilingual communication and literacy will be very beneficial to The Little Huskies
program.
Research and theory point to many
factors that can influence a child’s
language
development: biological, social,
cultural, emotional, environmental,
and perhaps other
factors about which we have little
knowledge. As illustrated in Figure 3,
all of these
could be optimized in a national
strategy to improve language
development outcomes.(Ball, J. (2007).
Our Solution: Possible Grants

Strong Start, Strong Readers

https://www.grantforward.com/grant?grant_id=266048&offset=0

Strong Start, Strong Readers program supports efforts to increase and improve school
readiness and literacy using six strategies (Engaged families, Literacy-rich environments,
quality early childhood education centers, Strong K-3 literacy instruction, Qualified
educators and Advocacy and Public information).
 New organizations must begin by creating an account online as an initial
inquiry form. You will be asked:
o Several questions that describe the proposed idea/concept
o Budget for which funds are being requested
o 3 years of audited financial statements required
 If invited to proceed to step 2 (full proposal) materials are due by the
deadline.
o Your program officer will let you know what and when the
information needs to be submitted.
B.E.S.T Community Grant Program

https://www.grantforward.com/grant?grant_id=248528&offset=31

Their hope is to help Build, Empower, Strengthen and Transform our Michigan
Communities. Priority is given to (non-profit) grant ideas related to one or more of the
following:
 Demonstrates a clear and convincing need
 Develops self reliance
 Mirrors the diversity of our community
 New or expanding problems solving or addressing critical local needs

o Create login/confirm email

o 2 step application process:
 Step one: upload initial proposal summary and proof of non-profit status
 Step two: if all prerequisites are met, you’ll be notified and moved onto
the full application cycle.

W.K. Kellogg Foundation-Educated Kids

https://www.grantforward.com/grant?grant_id=275521&offset=-1

This foundation believes that education practices and policies should be community-
based and connected to family engagement efforts that mobilize voices, resources and
solutions. They want to partner with families, schools and communities in making a
difference in young children’s learning and development. They seek to improve the
quality of both teaching and learning through leadership and professional development in
which educators receive the support and training they need to deliver high-quality
learning opportunities for all students. This includes working with childcare providers,
schools and teacher preparation programs to create safe, positive environments that are
content rich, results-driven and culturally meaningful and relevant.

 Applications must be submitted via www.WKKF.org

 Complete all questions unless otherwise noted
The Edith Glick Shoolman Children’s Foundation
http://www.shoolman.org/EGSCF/index.php/about-us

The Foundation's resources are devoted primarily to programs designed to equip young
children with the intellectual, emotional and other skills and attributes they will need to
be able to learn effectively. They believe that reading is the foundation of learning and
that children must be healthy and emotionally fit in order to learn effectively, the
Foundation supports programs that encourage early childhood literacy and emotional well
being.
 This foundation is primarily for the New York City metropolitan area but
may sometimes accept other applications.
 Only qualified toward tax exempt organizations
 Step one: create user account and submit a letter of inquiry (LOI)
 If foundation criteria are met, you will be asked to complete an online
application.
 You will also be asked to provide a copy of your most recent IRS Form
990. If your organization is not required to complete a Form 990 (e.g.,
public library, religious institution) space is provided for an explanation.

Conclusion
To ensure applications for grants are successful, complete and submit them on or before
the deadline. Gather important information throughout the year instead of compiling
everything right before you need it, some information may be harder to find than you
expect.

Things to keep record of include but are not limited to:

 record of previous grants (grant amount and what it was used for)
 grant amount being requested
 organizations history and mission
 population served
 current programs
 recent accomplishments
 details about staff
 program and project information
 information on collaborations and partnerships for the project
 description of evaluation process
 IRS Form 990
 3 years of audited financial statements required
Citations:

“B.E.S.T. Community Grant Program.” GrantForward Search Engine | Search for Federal

Grants, Foundation Grants, and Limited Submission Opportunities, Michigan Masonic
Charitable Foundation, 16 May 2018, www.grantforward.com/grant?
grant_id=248528&offset=31.

“Educated Kids.” GrantForward Search Engine | Search for Federal Grants, Foundation Grants,
and Limited Submission Opportunities, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, 28 Sept. 2018,
www.grantforward.com/grant?grant_id=275521&offset=-1.

Karsh, E., & Fox, A. S. (2014). The only grant-writing book you'll ever need.

Strickland, D., & Riley-Ayers, S. (2013, November 07). Early Literacy: Policy and Practice in the
Preschool Years. Retrieved November 20, 2018, from
http://www.readingrockets.org/article/early-literacy-policy-and-practice-preschool-years

“Strong Start, Strong Readers.” GrantForward Search Engine | Search for Federal Grants,
Foundation Grants, and Limited Submission Opportunities, William Penn Foundation,
www.grantforward.com/grant?grant_id=266048&offset=0.

“Supporting Young Indigenous Children’s Language Development in Canada: A Review of

Research on Needs and Promising Practices.” Canadian Modern Language Review, 66(1), 19-47.
doi:10.3138/cmlr.66.1.019., Ball, J. (2007).

“The Edith Glick Shoolman Children's Foundation.” Retrieved October 18, 2019, from
http://www.shoolman.org/EGSCF/index.php., User, S. (1993, January).