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American Library Association TDD 312 944 7298 Telephone 312-280-5287 Public Programs Office http://www.ala.org/publicprograms/ Fax 312-280-5759 50 East Huron Street E-mail brussell@ala.org Chicago, Illinois 60611-2795 USA ALAAmericanLibraryAssociation American Dream Literacy Initiative Grant Acceptance Form — Due January 18, 2019 Please sign and return this form immediately to authorize payment of $10,000 grant. Email or fax this Grant Acceptance Form by Wednesday, January 18, 2019 to: American Library Association Public Programs Office Attention: Brian Russell 50 E. Huron Chicago, IL 60611 Fax: 312-280-5759 Email: brussell@ala.org Sign below to indicate understanding and acceptance of the following: • The following project activities will be carried out during the February 2019-November 2019 grant term: o Spend all grant funds within the grant period, according to your funded project plan. o Submit any requests for program or budget variances — over 10% — in writing. o Participate in a cohort orientation webinar on February 6, 2019 o A minimum of one library staff must attend and participate in the additional project support online learning sessions: • Project Outcome tools for American Dream Literacy Initiative • Media and advocacy webinar • Reporting and Evaluation • Cohort peer-to-peer Zoom sessions o Develop a post-project sustainability plan to help your library continue the services established through the American Dream grant, to be submitted as an attachment to your final report. 1 o Share any print and/or online resources developed for your library's American Dream Literacy Initiative, to be shared via the ALA project website. o Promote the American Dream Literacy Initiative, including the program logo, ALA logo and the Dollar General logo. o Inform local and statewide library networks and your local Dollar General store about the ALA/Dollar General grant and your specific project. o Use the PLA Project Outcome measurement platform and tools for participant feedback and evaluation. o Submit an online interim report and budget updates to ALA, by July 31, 2019. o Submit an online final report to ALA, no later than November 30, 2019. • Funds received will be used to support the project related activities as described in your grant application and covered under the terms of this grant agreement. If there are changes to your plan, please contact Mary Davis Fournier at 312-280-5056 or mfournier@ala.org . Substantive changes to the proposed program plans, budget or the designated project team must be submitted to ALA in writing and approved by ALA. Name of Library (Check will be made payable to the library as listed below. If you would like the check made payable to the library's foundation or Friends' group instead, please indicate below.): Name, title and signature, Project Director: Name, title, signature, Library Director or Authorizing Official: 2 How have data collection and community engagement helped you determine the needs of the adult learner population you serve? Please be as specific as possible. (250 words maximum) Gila Bend is rural community with a population of 2,100. The closest college is the Estrella Mountain Community College, located 54 miles north of Gila Bend. Many residents have limited or no transportation. Collaborations with the Town of Gila Bend, Gila Bend Resource Center, Gila Bend High School, and the Community Center have shown that there are limited opportunities for adult (18+) education. There are many adult learners who have expressed their need to obtain a GED to secure better employment opportunities. According to the 2015-16 AZ Report Card, Gila Bend High has only a 77% graduation rate. Currently there are no in-person programs in Gila Bend that offer GED prep or places to take the GED test. The closest GED testing is at the Rio Salado Campus located 53 miles away. The library is working closely with the town's Community Development Task Force to provide adult education opportunities. Currently the town sponsors GED test scholarships and transportation. To support this program, the library has free online GED test preparation and other adult learning resources through Gale Course and Learning Express Library. Residents can access resources with a library card. However, many residents do not have a computer or internet access at home to take online courses. By offering circulating computers and hotspots along with one-on-one support and classes on using online resources, we believe we can provide successful adult learning outcomes such as improved skills resulting in employment opportunities. Project Description Describe in detail your proposed project for adult learners, including the following information in your narrative. (500 words maximum) • What is the project design? • Are the services new or an expansion of existing services? • Whom will you be serving? Is this/are these population(s) new to your community? • How will these literacy services for adult learners benefit the library and the community? • Will your project include bookmobile-based literacy services for adult learners? If so, please describe your current bookmobile literacy services and how the proposed project will augment those services. To continue our efforts to provide resources for residents that are low income and cannot visit the library during business hours, we propose to offer laptops and hotspots for checkout up to 6 weeks. In order to check out the computer and hotspot, the customer must register and attend an overview of the online resources and then register for a course of interest. The process is as follows: I) Register for a free library card 2) Register for a 6-week online class using one of our online resources a) Resident will need to attend an "Introduction to Online Resources" class offered on a weekend or evening to check out laptop and hotspot or schedule a one-on- one session with the librarian. 3) Resident signs an agreement that he/she is responsible to return the technology in working condition and will complete the course to earn a certificate. 4) Participant will complete a Program Outcome survey prior to checkout to determine hoped for outcomes; i.e. I want to learn a skill that will help me fmd a job. 5) After one week, library staff will check in with each participant to see if they are having any problems accessing course material and completing assigned work. 6) On completion of the course, the resident will fill out another Program Outcome survey in order to measure intended outcome. 7) Staff will use Program Outcome Survey to make necessary changes and adjustments. This service would be new and the first library in Maricopa County to offer such a program. We will target Gila Bend adult learners (18+) who are low-income, do not have access to computers or internet at home. Participants will create accounts and choose an online course of their interest. Subjects include Accounting and Finance, Business, College Readiness, Prep for GED Test Series, Computer Applications, Healthcare and Medical, Language and Arts, Law and Legal, Personal Development, Teaching and Education, Technology, and English Language Learning. Since staff at Gila Bend are bilingual they will also be able to help non-native speakers navigate through the English Language Learning course. The courses they will be registering for will allow individuals to learn new skills which will allow them to improve employment qualifications and reach personal goals. These populations are not new to the community of Gila Bend. By offering technology to take home and use at their convenience, we are benefitting adult learners by bridging the digital divide they face as well as providing free online courses to improve employment readiness skills. Certification of completed course provide evidence of skills. We currently do not offer any type of bookmobile service and will not be using the funds to add one to the Gila Bend Library. Capacity Detail how your library has the capacity to implement this project, including (250 words maximum) O How will you staff this initiative? (include library staff and any contract or partner organizations staff) o What in-kind support will the library provide, such as meeting space, printing and distribution, collections development, IT support, matching funds, etc.? Staff will be assigned to teach the Introduction to Online Resources and check in with participants. Staff will also be responsible for surveying students and compiling data Three staff members will also handle the check out and check in procedures for the laptops and hotspots. The laptops and hotspots will be processed and added to the library collection through our collection development team. The IT department of the Maricopa County Library District will coordinate the procurement of the technology as well as any needed software. They will also provide ongoing IT support for both the laptops and the hotspots including the service plan. The Library will provide in-kind promotional material including print, email blast, digital slides, press releases, and social media. The town of Gila Bend will promote the program through their local newspaper and social media accounts. Outreach and Collaboration Indicate your plans for working with partners, if applicable, and the community at large to facilitate and promote the project. (250 words maximum) • Provide a list of your community partners, if applicable, and indicate what, specifically, each of the partners will contribute to the project. • How will volunteers contribute to this initiative? • How will you publicize and promote this project within the library and to the community at large? In order to ensure that this project succeeds, we will market the project using various modes of communications such as social media, email blasts, press releases, flyers, posters, and the collaborative help from our community partners. The community partners that will help with increasing awareness of the laptop and hotspots available for the community are as follows: • Town of Gila Bend- The Director of the Community & Economic Development has agreed to provide marketing efforts and a letter of support for this project. • Gila Bend Family Resource Center- The Coordinator has agreed to market, post information in the resource center, and refer residents to the library. • Paloma Elementary Scho_ol-The superintendent has agreed to have flyers distributed to all the students so they can give to their parents. • Gila Bend School District- Flyers and posters will be handed and posted within the school. • Gila Bend Chamber of Commerce- Flyers and posters will be handed out and marketing efforts within the businesses. There will be no volunteers assisting with this project. With the help of our staff, our community partners, and our marketing efforts, we will increase our chances to reach the community of Gila Bend. Evaluation and Sustainability Detail how you will evaluate and sustain the initiative, including the following information: (250 words maximum) • This project grant requires use of American Dream Project Outcome tools. Ihrli addition to those tools, how does your library measure impact and outcomes for adult literacy efforts? • Please explain your library's plans for sustaining adult literacy efforts and how the proposed grant funded activities relate to these plans. How will your library continue to provide literacy services when the grant ends? To evaluate our initiative we will be asking the participants to complete a survey before the class in order to determine expected outcomes. On completion of the course, participants will complete survey to measure the outcomes. This survey will also provide feedback about satisfaction with the technology; ease of use, ease of connectivity, ease of access to online resources, and support provided. Based upon the feedback of the survey, we will try to incorporate their suggestions and adjust if needed. Our IT department would continue to maintain the laptops and hotspots including the monthly service fee after the program. Every two months the program would start again allowing for people to complete the six week course. In order to sustain our initiative we would make sure the laptops are regularly updated, in working condition, and secured. We would also ensure that any personal data from the previous customer is deleted upon check in. The proper packaging of the technology is vital in order to protect from damage. Once the grant ends, we will continue to market the unique program and recruit new adult learners. We will do everything possible to ensure this project continues to benefit the community and increase adult learning opportunities. Budget: $10,000 Materials needed: 20 Google Chrome Laptops @ $308.22 each= $6,164.40 tax $530.14 20 Hotspots @ $50 dollars each= $1,000 for Hotspots $10 monthly service for each hotspot= $1,800 for service for 9 months 20 carriers @ $29.99 each= $599.80 not including tax Total= $10094.34 Budget Justification We are requesting $10,000 in technology to support our adult learners in the community of Gila Bend. The laptops that we would like to purchase are rate highly, durable, and a great investment. The adult learners will be able to do coursework, save to the computer, and use docs to do any essays. The hotspots that we are requesting will help the adult learners access the internet for them to log onto our website and enroll in the Gale Courses or another college course of their choice. The money will be spent on the technology and carriers. All marketing will be done by the Maricopa County Library District and community partners. Reference: https://wwvv.azauditor.qov/sites/default/files/Gila Bend USD.pdf Hotspot info: https://www.techsoup.orq/mobile-beacon How to start hotspot: https://www.maine.qov/msl/libs/tech/How-to-Hotspot.pdf