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Step 2: Outdoor School Grant Application

Legal Name of Organization

Doing Business As (if applicable)

Mailing Street

Mailing City

Mailing State

Mailing Zip

Primary Contact First Name

Primary Contact Last Name

Title

Email Address

Phone Number

I. Mission and Experience (15 points): Describe your organization's mission, brief history and experience in providing curriculum-aligned school year programs to Maine’s public elementary and middle schools. (Max 100 words)

II. Curriculum, Program Structure and Risk Management (40 points)

1. Immersive Outdoor Education Philosophy: Describe your program’s core educational approach, specifically how it meets the definition of “immersive outdoor education.” (Max 100 words)

2. Thematic Focus: How would you describe the thematic focus of your program? Put another way, how do you expect students will change as a result of an Outdoor School experience with your organization?(Max 100 words)

3. Safety and Developmental Appropriateness: Describe how your program differentiates both safety procedures and curriculum content for student grade and developmental levels. (Max 100 words)

4. Hands-on Learning and Local Ecosystems: Describe how your program will use the outdoors and local ecosystems as the primary context to support hands-on learning, including lessons, meals, and on-site living. (Max 150 words)

5. Social-Emotional Learning: How does your program support the social-emotional health, wellness and growth of students? (Max 100 words)

6. Program Format: Will your Outdoor School program be offered in an overnight (minimum 2- night, 3-day) format?

If offering a day program, explain why an overnight program is impractical due to health or cultural considerations of the particular school student population.

7. Compliance with MRS Title 12: MRS Title 12, Chapter 927 defines the role of licensed guides, outdoor educational trip leaders and camp trip leaders, as well as the types of programs for which such leaders are required and the limitations of each type of license or permit. The exact guide-related regulations for an organization will depend on their programming (e.g. primitive site, camping, boating, etc.) and their licensing status (e.g. licensed educational institutions or camp). If the format of your proposed program requires the use of licensed guides, educational trip leaders, or camp trip leaders, how will your organization ensure compliance with Title 12 Chapter 927? (Max 150 words)

8. Staff Training: Outline in detail your approach to training educators in both risk management and outdoor and environmental education program delivery. (Max 150 words)

III. School Parternship(s), Student Population and Accessibility (30 points):

1. Which school(s) and grade level(s) does your proposed program intend to serve?

2. Describe your plans for collaborating with schools and teachers to provide access to your program. What outreach and communication strategies will you employ to ensure participation in Outdoor School?

3. The Outdoor School for All Maine Students statute charges UMaine Extension with prioritizing grants to serve schools with high populations of students historically underserved by outdoor education, including but not limited to Indian tribes and nations, migrant students, schools with high numbers of students who qualify for free and reduced-price lunches, rural and remote schools, students in alternative education programs, students of color, English language learners and students receiving special education services. Describe your proposed school partnership(s) and how they meet these criteria.

4. How will your organization ensure equitable access to the program for all students, including accommodations for those with disabilities, learning and language differences?

IV. Evaluation and Reporting

Commitment to Evaluation and Reporting: Please affirm your organization’s commitment to:

ensuring all students and school faculty/staff complete a post-program evaluation; and
providing UMaine Extension with a report at the end of the performance period detailing the following data:

Number of students served from which school/schools
Number of teachers/school representatives attending
Reflection on what went well, what could be improved upon in the following categories:

Communication from Extension on grant process
School communication/contract flow
Program delivery

My organization commits to ensuring that post-program evaluations are completed and a detailed final report is submitted to UMaine Extension.

V. Extension Outdoor school Funding Request (15 points)

Organizational Match: Proposals with a cash match will be incentivized in the selection process. Cash match can be sourced from other grants, donations, organizational scholarships or tuition/fee offset.

Please list sources of matching funds included with this proposal.

Total Cash Match:

Budget Template

School name

Grade

District

# of students

Multiply by $395 per student

Subtotal

Minus cash match (if applicable)

Total amount requested for this school

If your proposal includes more than one school, click "Add another school"

Grand total request for all schools:

VI. Certification

I certify that the information provided in this application is true and accurate to the best of my knowledge and that this organization meets all eligibility requirements as outlined in the Outdoor School for All Maine Students Program legislation.

Signature

Title

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