Coffee County committee proposes $2,500 mini‑grants, expands tutoring and after‑school options
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Summary
A Coffee County School Board committee discussed expanding targeted tutoring, continuing federally funded NIET work, and launching a districtwide mini‑grant program with a suggested $2,500 cap per award and a $50,000 seed pool; staff were directed to draft an application and rubric for board approval.
A committee convened under the Coffee County School Board on Oct. 1 discussed expanding targeted tutoring and after‑school programs and agreed to develop a districtwide mini‑grant program, with staff directed to prepare a grant application and rubric for board consideration.
Committee members and staff laid out current tutoring efforts aimed at raising students from “approaching” to “proficient,” saying third‑ and fourth‑grade groups meet one hour a day, four days a week for roughly 100 days per school year and are limited to invited students recommended by classroom teachers. The presenter said the goal for each tutoring group is a minimum of 10 students, with one teacher and one educational assistant assigned per classroom and the same curriculum used as during the school day.
The committee described pay rates for tutors in the existing program: $30 per hour for teachers and $20 per hour for educational assistants plus approximately 16% in benefits. A staff participant summarized that cost for the 100‑day program when questioned as “about $585,800,” without specifying which budget lines that total would draw from.
Members reviewed district professional development and program supports that feed into tutoring outcomes: NIET coaching and classroom walkthroughs (a federal grant that is in its final year), ACT Mastery Prep for secondary students, MasteryConnect assessments at middle school, and sustained “letters” training for early elementary teachers. Participants said some NIET work could be continued using TISA outcome bonus funds but cautioned that TISA bonus amounts arrive with uncertain timing.
On funding and grants, the committee discussed a proposed mini‑grant program to encourage “innovation” in classrooms and extracurriculars. The initial framework discussed included a maximum award of $2,500 per project and a suggested seed pool of about $50,000. Committee members preferred flexibility in the application requirements so non‑core instructional proposals (for example, field trips, garden projects, music or art activities) would not be automatically disqualified if their outcomes are not directly measurable by state tests.
Participants proposed program structure and oversight details: a representative from each school (with two rotating elementary representatives attending each meeting), a rubric to evaluate applications that ties projects to district goals, and a review committee to score submissions. The tentative timeline discussed was to place funding on the November board meeting agenda, release the application after the Nov. 10 board meeting if the board approves funding, accept applications for roughly a month, set a Dec. 8 submission deadline, and announce recipients at the January board meeting.
Committee members stressed a range of project types could be eligible. Suggestions included STEM and garden projects in after‑school/excellence programs, field trips (noting limits for state‑funded pre‑K), mentoring and “dads on buses” initiatives, and occasional community or business partnerships. One board member also suggested exploring community resources such as a nearby shooting range for hunter safety or ROTC opportunities; that idea was characterized as exploratory.
No formal motions or votes were recorded in the committee discussion captured in the transcript. Instead, the group agreed to have staff draft a grant application and scoring rubric and to put the proposed funding on the Coffee County School Board agenda in November for formal consideration.
"I do appreciate everybody's input. This is real good conversation," the presenter said as the discussion concluded.
The committee requested that staff circulate the draft application and involve school representatives in developing the rubric and review process; staff said they would include committee members on the email chain and aim to have school representatives identified within the next one to two weeks.
Background: the district currently uses a mix of federal grants (NIET), TISA outcome bonus funds, and other local supports for tutoring, professional development, and after‑school activities. Committee members repeatedly emphasized balancing measurable learning outcomes with opportunities that increase students' exposure to experiences (for example, field trips and extracurriculars) even when those outcomes are not immediately captured by standardized tests.
