Catching The Dream

Grants
CTD makes grant programs for the purpose of improving Indian schools. CTD normally makes five types of grants to Indian schools, Indian tribal colleges, Indian libraries, and related organizations each year, depending on the availability of funds. These grants are the Reading Award Program (RAP), the Dibner Math and Science Teaching (MAST) Program, the Native Educator Scholarship (NES) Program, the Golden Star Attendance (GSA) Program, and the Supplemental Literacy Grant (SLG) program.

Grant amounts have varied from $10,000 to $110,000. In FY 2007, however, only RAP grants will be made. Foundations, corporations, and individuals who believe in the mission of CTD and who care deeply about opening doors of opportunity for Indian students support these grant programs.

Applicants must apply on forms provided by CTD. An application form can be obtained from CTD by mail, by e-mail, and in person. All actual proposals must be no more than one page long. Applications longer than one page will be returned unranked to the applicant. Normally, CTD will mail grant notices in August of each year; deadlines will be October 15 of each year, and winners will be notified by October 30 each year. These deadlines are subject to change, depending on the availability of funds. No overhead costs of any type are allowed.

Funds have to be spent exclusively for the benefit of students. Applicants should start their programs at the beginning of the school year, and not wait until they have won the grant to start. We want students to have the benefit of the program for the whole year, not just part of the year.

The Reading Award Program (RAP) make mini-grants of $1,000 a year to schools to provide incentives for Indian students to read more books. Funds can be used only to motivate students to read heavily, and to reward them for doing so. They cannot be used for the purchase of books, the purchase of computers or reading equipment, and for staff training and travel.

Applications for RAP awards must describe the students to be served, the reading habits of these students (including the number of books they read the year before), how the program will work, how the funds from RAP will be used, the background of the person in charge of the project, a description of the school, and a description of project objectives. For a comprehensive report on this program, contact CTD with your name and address. The report is free. ($10,000 in grants for FY 2007)

The Dibner Math and Science Teaching (MAST) Program makes grants of $5,000 each to Indian high schools to improve their math and science teaching. The goals of the program are to have Indian high schools offer more advance math and science programs and to have more Indian students enrolled in advanced classes.

Applications must describe the present state of math and/or science teaching at the high school, including the number of Indian students enrolled in the target classes. They must also describe how the program will operate, give the background of the person in charge of the project, a description of the school, and a description of project objectives. (No grants for FY 2007)

The Native Educator Scholarship (NES) Program is intended to produce more Indian teachers. Any school district that is already using its own funds to produce more Indian teachers is eligible to apply for an NES grant. The applicant must provide a description of the students to be served, their current standing in college, how many hours of college study each will complete during the year, and the total cost of each. (No grants for FY 2007)

The Golden Star Attendance (GSA) Program is intended to improve daily attendance rates at Indian schools. Applications must document by grade level what the current daily attendance rate is. They must also spell out how they are going to increase it, and describe the school, the student body, the project objectives, and the person in charge. (No grants for FY 2007)

The Supplemental Literacy Grant (SLG) makes grants to tribes, nonprofit organizations, schools, tribal colleges, and community-based organizations to provide literacy education for Indian adults. (No grants for FY 2007)

Awards
CTD makes three awards each year. They are presented at the annual Exemplary Institute. They are Counselor of the Year (COY), Principal of the Year (POY), and Exemplary Program in Indian Education (EPIE). The deadline for the awards is March 15, 2007. Please e-mail CTD for the nomination forms.

The COY is an award to a counselor whose efforts have most enabled Native American students to attend college. Please nominate your own counselor or another person you feel is deserving of this award.

The POY is an award to a principal at any school level who has done the most to improve the educational outcomes for students in the previous year. Please nominate your own principal or any other principal you feel is deserving of this award.

The EPIE Award it the top award given to an exemplary programs in Indian education. The nominee may be any person who is involved in the education of Native students, from kindergarten through graduate school.

To certify your program as an Exemplary Program, to be included in the book "Exemplary Programs in Indian Education," or to request a list of the current EPIEs, please e-mail CTD4DeanChavers@aol.com to request the application form and/or the list. Any school, project, program, school district, tribal college, tribal college program, mainstream college program, and similar entities that have achieved exemplary results with Indian students is eligible to be identified as exemplary. The Board of Directors will review all applications received