January 2002
Marshall County Receives $5 Million CAPE Grant
Marshall County received an early Christmas present when it was announced last month that the Marshall County Community Foundation was successful in its application for a $5 million CAPE Grant. A total of seventeen counties in Indiana received funding by Lilly Endowment for CAPE (Community Alliances to Promote Education) Grants of up to $5 million each. This is the third round of CAPE Grants offered by Lilly Endowment to counties in Indiana with a total investment of over $186 million. Altogether, CAPE Grants in this round total $80.7 million. It is believed that approximately forty-five counties applied for grants in this round.
Of the approximately $5 million in funds, approximately $900,000 will be invested at the Marshall County Community Foundation to be used as an endowment to further the initiatives of the grant proposal after the three year grant period. The other approximately $4.1 million will be allocated to the implementation of the grant.
The grant proposal identified three main components to fund. The first component is to establish a Lifelong Learning Network in Marshall County. The second component is to set up a Childcare Provider Education Incentive Program. The third component is to develop The Stronger Together Program throughout the county.
The Marshall County Lifelong Learning Network (LLN) will be headquartered at Crossroads Academy in Plymouth. An advisory committee has been established for the LLN and they have appointed Greg Renz as the Executive Director of the LLN. The LLN will be responsible for the implementation of all components of the network. The LLN will establish Crossroads Academy as the clearinghouse for educational information and programs for the county, as well as offering a variety of educational activities for county citizens. The intent of the project is to serve all residents - county wide. This includes students, adults, workers, anyone in the community that wants to advance his/her education. One strategy that has been provided for in the grant is to install distance-learning technology in Crossroads Academy, Ancilla College, and all the high schools in the county. This technology will allow residents to access higher learning programs in their own community as well as allow for programs to be developed locally and broadcast throughout the county. Another strategy to reach all residents in the county is to utilize the notebook computers at Crossroads to go out into the communities and perform training on site in businesses, churches, nursing homes, hospitals, schools and other facilities. In addition to the technology training, other curriculum being developed will address areas such as life skills, parenting skills, reading and literacy programs, GED preparation, post-secondary education courses, and other skill specific training.
The Childcare Provider Education Incentive Program will be administered through Ancilla College. This program will attempt to increase the quantity and quality of daycare in the county by developing a Marshall County Childcare certification program, giving out incentives to certified childcare providers to establish and maintain educational programs as part of their childcare facilities, provide subsidies to increase the level of education for daycare staff, and provide incentives to encourage second and third shift childcare services. The expected result of these efforts would be higher quality childcare that is more readily accessible and affordable to working parents in the county.
The Stronger Together Program will be administered through Heart and Hands, Inc. This program will increase the availability of cross cultural learning opportunities in the county, focusing primarily on the fast growing Hispanic population. The program will address this initiative by developing and implementing workplace ESL classes, developing cross-cultural workshops that can be taken to schools, churches and other groups throughout the county, creating scholarship opportunities to encourage post-secondary education by immigrant youth, and developing conversational Spanish programs to assist the general population to better understand the Hispanic language and culture.
"We are very excited about the opportunities this grant will provide to Marshall County" said Renz, "This is a once in a lifetime chance to make a tremendous impact on education in Marshall County and we are very thankful to Lilly Endowment for their confidence in our programs."
The planning committees are busy working on the initial implementation of the project. If anyone has any comments, ideas or suggestions, they can reach Greg Renz at Crossroads Academy at 574-936-8834. "This proposal was developed after extensive input by various groups and individuals throughout the county" said Renz, "And I hope that input will continue throughout the implementation period."
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