Community Capital:  Partnering with the Eden Prairie Foundation for Chromebooks and Digital Literacy in Adult ESL

The Challenge:  In 2013, our Eden Prairie-based Metro South ABE adult ESL classes had extremely limited access to computers for student use.  Our lease with Hennepin Technical College allowed us two hours of computer lab time per week.  The access was daytime only, so our for night classes were unable to participate.  Digital literacy skills are a necessity for our adults learning English to successfully navigate both professional and family life.

Metro South ABE had some resources that could be applied to this challenge.  We wanted to take this opportunity to explore using Chromebooks in adult ESL courses.  If we had success, we could expand the program to our Bloomington site.

The Problem:  Funding was an issue.  Metro South could afford only half of the necessary Chromebooks.  ISD271 funds could not be used, as the programming in Eden Prairie was outside of ISD271's geographical boundaries (Metro South has access to 2013 Technology Levy funds, on the condition that they not be used outside of Bloomington).

I began discussions with Dale Lanning, our lead ESL teacher in Eden Prairie.  We identified a need for twently Chromebooks, a laptop cart, and professional development time for lesson creation and staff training.  I had previously written successful grant applications with the Eden Prairie Foundation in 2001 and 2008.  I wrote our grant application and submitted it along with the supporting documents in Februar of 2014.  This was a larger-than-usual request, totalling $7,580.

Our Partner:  The Eden Prairie Foundation is a group that strives to make their community better through leadership, philanthropy, and building community.  Each year they organize an even called EP Gives.  EP Gives is a narrative of the grants that the Foundation has selected to fund, an opportunity for leaders in the community to network, and a fundraising event.  Mark Weber contacted me in March of 2014, to say that Metro South had been selected as a grant recipient.  The Foundation could only provide $3,000 for the project, however.  I approached the Metro South Director about making up the difference with program funds, which we chose to do.

The Outcome:  Our partnership was a huge success.  Metro South's teachers did a wonderful job of integrating the Chromebooks into their curriculum.  Students were excited about the new opportunities.  We had two successful visits from members of the Foundation board, who were thrilled with what they saw and what students had to say about the experience.  I filed mid-year and end-of-year grant updates with the Foundation.  The Foundation was very pleased with the results!

IMark Weber, the Foundation's executive director, approached me in early 2015.  The board members asked him to reach out to see if we wanted another round of funding to expand the number of Chromebooks for student use.  This was very unusual--the Foundation specifically states in its grant application that it prefers not to fund the same grant twice.  The Foundation provided us with another grant in 2015, which Metro South again matched.  We now have 45 Chromebooks at our Eden Prairie location.  This has allowed us to create a new daytime class that focuses on career exploration and digital literacy for students who have mastered our English classes.

The Foundation has publicized our program in their End of Year reports and featured our partnership on their website.