Foundations Looks At Education Priorities
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
More than 40 educators and area residents gathered Thursday at the Kosciusko County Foundation offices to share ideas on educational priorities for the county.
In the third of three "town hall" meetings, participants decided that "identifying and servicing the needs of at-risk students" was the No. 1 priority. Second was "increasing career and technical skills training and opportunities," and the third priority was "involving parent and child interaction that supports education."
The last two major concerns in the top five discussed were "providing literacy remediation for all ages" and "increasing cultural awareness and harmony, and providing cross-cultural training."
The session was led by Greg Griffin, a consultant with Thomas P. Miller and Associates who also led the other two sessions. The purpose of the meetings was to solicit ideas to be used in applying for a CAPE - Community Alliances to Promote Education - Grant through The Lilly Endowment Inc.
If the county qualifies for a grant, Lilly Endowment could award up to $5 million to promote education in Kosciusko County. First the community's most "compelling" educational needs must be identified, which is the purpose of the town hall meetings.
Once all the information from the three meetings is collected, the next step is to hold interviews, organize focus groups and send out surveys, said Suzie Light, director of Kosciusko County Foundation. The final grant application must be submitted to Lilly Endowment by July 31, and grant recipients will be announced by Dec. 31.
The Lilly Endowment grants, Griffin said, are aimed at "increasing educational attainment and creating human capital."
Lilly Endowment is concerned about Indiana's "brain drain," he said, "because we're losing some of our best and brightest to other states."
He also said studies indicate Indiana ranks 48th of the 50 states in the percentage of the adult population with baccalaureate degrees, and 50th of the 50 states with professionals in the work force.
Lilly's focus, he said, is not on education for specific ages, but on preschool through post-graduate studies - lifelong learning.
Other concerns mentioned by the participants Thursday included character education, cultural harmony training for all ages, increasing educational specialties in teaching, mass CPR training and developing a community center to increase lifelong learning opportunities. [[In-content Ad]]
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More than 40 educators and area residents gathered Thursday at the Kosciusko County Foundation offices to share ideas on educational priorities for the county.
In the third of three "town hall" meetings, participants decided that "identifying and servicing the needs of at-risk students" was the No. 1 priority. Second was "increasing career and technical skills training and opportunities," and the third priority was "involving parent and child interaction that supports education."
The last two major concerns in the top five discussed were "providing literacy remediation for all ages" and "increasing cultural awareness and harmony, and providing cross-cultural training."
The session was led by Greg Griffin, a consultant with Thomas P. Miller and Associates who also led the other two sessions. The purpose of the meetings was to solicit ideas to be used in applying for a CAPE - Community Alliances to Promote Education - Grant through The Lilly Endowment Inc.
If the county qualifies for a grant, Lilly Endowment could award up to $5 million to promote education in Kosciusko County. First the community's most "compelling" educational needs must be identified, which is the purpose of the town hall meetings.
Once all the information from the three meetings is collected, the next step is to hold interviews, organize focus groups and send out surveys, said Suzie Light, director of Kosciusko County Foundation. The final grant application must be submitted to Lilly Endowment by July 31, and grant recipients will be announced by Dec. 31.
The Lilly Endowment grants, Griffin said, are aimed at "increasing educational attainment and creating human capital."
Lilly Endowment is concerned about Indiana's "brain drain," he said, "because we're losing some of our best and brightest to other states."
He also said studies indicate Indiana ranks 48th of the 50 states in the percentage of the adult population with baccalaureate degrees, and 50th of the 50 states with professionals in the work force.
Lilly's focus, he said, is not on education for specific ages, but on preschool through post-graduate studies - lifelong learning.
Other concerns mentioned by the participants Thursday included character education, cultural harmony training for all ages, increasing educational specialties in teaching, mass CPR training and developing a community center to increase lifelong learning opportunities. [[In-content Ad]]