Deal announces Innovation Fund Tiny Grant award winners

Gov. Nathan Deal today announced 39 award winners for the Innovation Fund Tiny Grant program, a competitive grant opportunity that provides funding to traditional public schools, charter schools and school districts to implement small-scale programs that directly engage students. 

“The Innovation Fund Tiny Grant provides funding for educators to develop and share best classroom methods with their peers,” said Deal. “As we encourage Georgia’s students to reach new heights, we must also expand opportunities for more effective academic growth and success in the classroom. Congratulations to the award winners and we look forward to seeing the impact each Tiny Grant will have on the futures of students in Georgia.”

Programs funded by Tiny Grants must align with one of the three following priority areas: applied learning with a focus on science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) education, development and replication of blended learning school models and birth-to-age-eight language and literacy development. 

Grantees will evaluate the impact of the programs on student engagement and achievement and submit their findings to the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement at the end of the grant period.

The grant award winners, schools systems and respective programs are listed below: 

Applied Learning with a Focus on STEAM Education

Charles R. Drew Charter School
Atlanta Public Schools
Tiny House, Huge Impact

Wesley International Academy
Atlanta Public Schools
Student News Broadcast

Westside Atlanta Charter School
Atlanta Public Schools
eSTEAM Builder

Sallie Zetterower Elementary School
Bulloch County Schools
Sprouting STEM Take 2

Willie J. Williams Middle School
Colquitt County School District 
PackerX

Alexander High School
Douglas County School District 
AHS Extended Robotics Team

Arbor Station Elementary School
Douglas County School District
Arbor Station STEM Lab

Sweetwater Elementary School
Douglas County School District 
VR Knights

Springfield Elementary School
Effingham County Schools
Full STEAM Ahead...Fostering Future Leaders in STEM Fields

Evoline C. West Elementary School
Fulton County Schools
Arcade Awareness: Sustainability Wins

Georgia Connections Academy
GACA Mobile MakerSpace

Bay Creek Middle School
Gwinnett County Public Schools
Introducing the Robo-Rams

Couch Middle School
Gwinnett County Public Schools
Come GROW with Me

Martin Technology Academy of Math and Science
Hall County Schools
Digital Storytelling

Hampton Elementary Charter School
Henry County Schools
Monarch Butterfly Garden

Hampton Middle School
Henry County Schools
Virtual Reality: Changing the Classroom Experience

Thomson Middle School
Houston County Schools
Next Generation Scientists

Morgan County Elementary School
Morgan County Charter School System 
VR Makes Us Who We Are!

Bagley Middle School
Murray County Schools
Going Beyond the Ordinary with Virtual Reality

Hiram High School
Paulding County School District
Garden/Greenhouse Project

Flat Shoals Elementary
Rockdale County Public Schools
Making Magic with Makerspaces

West End Elementary School
Rome City Schools
WEE Worms

Hesse Elementary School
Savannah-Chatham County Public School System
Mighty Machines: The Power of LEGO Learning and STEAM in the Classroom

School for Arts Infused Learning
State Charter School
Our Transforming Community

Long Cane Middle School
Troup County School System
Drone Attack!

Long Cane Middle School
Troup County School System
Green Racing Team

Birth-through-Age-Eight Language and Literacy Development

Cobb County School District Office of Early Learning
Cobb County School District
Ready, Set, Read!

Blue Ridge School
Dalton Public Schools
Growing Great Readers

West Bainbridge Elementary School
Decatur County Schools
Wildcat Teachers Club

Amana Academy 
Fulton County Schools
ELA Modules and Mentors Make a Difference

West End Elementary School
Rome City Schools
WEE Cook to Read

Telfair County Schools
Birth to Books Parent Academy

Troup County School System
The Jungle Bus

Blended Learning

Ebenezer Middle School
Effingham County Schools
Blended Mastery Classroom with Chromebooks! Differentiating Instruction to Improve Learning for All Students

McClarin Success Academy
Fulton County Schools
Modern Blended/Personalized Student Learning Environment

Sycamore Elementary School
Gwinnett County Public Schools
The Breakfast Club

Social Circle Elementary School
Social Circle City Schools
Blended Learning for Acceleration, Enrichment, and Individualized Achievement

Social Circle Elementary School
Social Circle City Schools
Blending Learning for Students

Social Circle Elementary School
Social Circle City Schools
Blending Learning for Students and Teachers

Descriptions of the winning proposals are attached. 

About the Innovation Fund
The Innovation Fund invests in public education entities that aggressively develop and scale programs that enable Georgia educators to improve student performance and tackle our state’s most significant education challenges. In 2011, The Innovation Fund began as a $19.4 million competitive grant competition created under Georgia’s Race to the Top (RT3) Plan. To continue the Innovation Fund’s work beyond RT3, Deal appropriated state funding for Fiscal Years 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018. Since its inception, the Innovation Fund has invested more than $33 million of state and federal funding through 139 grants to school districts, traditional public schools, charter schools, postsecondary institutions and nonprofit organizations to pilot innovative education programs, ranging in focus from teacher and leader induction and development to STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) applied learning, blended learning and birth-to-age-eight language and literacy development. For more information on the Innovation Fund, visit the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement website.