MARICOPA COMMUNITY COLLEGES FOUNDATION GCC READS APPLICATION GRIC 2017.PDF

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Gila River Indian Community Grant Application
Grant Cycle 2017
Cover Sheet
Municipality Information
1. Date of Application: 2/15/2017 (NOTE: Click or use up/down arrow keys to move among fields)
2. Name of City, Town or County: Maricopa County
3. Mayor (City or Town) or Board of Supervisor’s Chairman (County): Denny Barney, Chairman District 1
4. Mailing Address: 301 W Jefferson, 10th Floor
5. City: Phoenix State: Arizona Zip Code: 85003
6. Acknowledgement of Submission by Authorized Municipality Representative:
Typed Name/Title: Click here to enter text. Signature:
Applicant Information
7. Department/Organization Name: Maricopa Community Colleges Foundation for Glendale Community
College
8. Is this a 501c non-profit Organization? No Yes If yes, attach IRS Determination Letter
9. Application Contact Person: Mary O’Connor Title: Executive VP/COO
10. Phone Number: 480-731-8403
11. Mailing Address: 2419 W 14th Street
12. City: Tempe State: Arizona Zip Code: 85281
13. Email Address: mary.oconnor@domail.maricopa.edu Website Address: https://mcccdf.org
Project Information
14. Project Name: GCC READS
15. Purpose of Grant: The GCC READS Committee was established to facilitate biannual book clubs
designed to supplement Developmental Reading classroom curricula and further support efforts to raise
reading levels among underprepared students entering Glendale Comminity College, and to increase
academic success in the classroom. Grant Funding will be used to purchase books, activity supplies, reading
incentives, and program-related items.
16. Priority Funding Area Education
17. Annual amount requested $5,000
18. Number of years that funding is 3 years
requested
19. Total amount requested (annual $15,000
amount x number of years)
20. Has your organization received past No.
funding from GRIC? If yes, list each year
and amount
For Office Use Only:
Data Entry Receipt Evaluation
Outcome  Approval Recommended/Amount $  Denial

Gila River Indian Community Grant Application
Grant Cycle 2017
21. Geographic area served Glendale, Peoria, and West Phornix, AZ

Gila River Indian Community Grant Application
Grant Cycle 2017
Narrative
Please structure your proposal to provide the following information in the order indicated. Provide the narrative
in paragraph form in the text field provided. Please be thorough but strive for brevity.
1. Briefly describe the organization’s history, mission and goals.
The Maricopa County Community Colleges District Foundation (MCCF) was established in 1977 as the
501(c)(3) nonprofit organization designated by the Maricopa County Community Colleges District
(MCCCD) to receive and manage gifts on behalf of its 10 colleges. The foundation actively seeks
contributions from a variety of private sources including individuals, corporations, and foundations, and
believes that everyone has the opportunity to improve their lives through education. MCCF works to fulfill
this vision with its mission to boldly impact the community through innovative and strategic partnerships for
the growth and benefit of the Maricopa Community Colleges, its students, faculty, and staff. Glendale
Community College is one of the 10 colleges MCCF supports.
Glendale Community College (GCC), founded in 1965, is currently the largest college within the Maricopa
County Community College District (MCCCD). MCCCD is one of the largest community college and
postsecondary education systems in the country with more than 220,000 students enrolled in credit and
non-credit courses each year. The system is comprised of 10 community colleges, a corporate college, and
two skill centers dedicated to educational excellence. Each college is individually accredited.
The mission of GCC is to prepare students for further higher education, employment, advancement and
successful participation in a global society. To that end, the college offers 114 degree and certificate
programs while offering creative transfer pathways through cooperative partnerships with Arizona’s three
state universities.
GCC is home to great diversity. Nearly 43% of GCC students are members of a minority group and
represent more than fifty countries. GCC is also a designated Hispanic-Serving Institution, with 29%
Hispanic student enrollment (see demographics charts in supporting documentation.)
Degree completion, transfer to a four year institution, and successful entry into the workplace are among
GCC’s goals for all its students. The GCC Reads program has become a vital part of GCC’s plan to
increase the success rate of these goals for underprepared college entry students.
2. If the applying organization is non-municipal or a non-profit 501c, please describe your relationship with
Arizona municipalities including past and present support, whether it be through partnerships,
collaborations, in-kind contributions, grants, tax-based funding or other. Describe the supporting
municipality’s role in this project. If the applying organization is a municipality governmental sub-
division please enter the text “Not applicable.”

Gila River Indian Community Grant Application
Grant Cycle 2017
Marciopa County has supported the applications to of the Maricopa County Community Colleges District
Foundation for four years. The County supports the Foundation by being the fiduciary for any 12% tribal
funding it receives.
3. Describe the proposed project and planned goals and activities.
The GCC Reads program, free to students, began the fall semester of 2014 with three faculty
on a mission to assist in raising the reading levels of academically underprepared, incoming
college students to increase their success and persistence.
Recruited students participated in a dynamic, fun, incentivized, literacy club designed to
complement classroom curricula in raising reading levels and overall increased literacy.
Today, the GCC Reads Committee is led by a team of 12 faculty members across academic
disciplines with experience in developmental education best practices (see document listing
committee members.) The GCC Reads program is recognized as another level of vital support
in GCC’s efforts to assist underprepared, college-entry students in achieving a foundation of
literacy skills that will carry them forward to achieve their academic goals.
Methodology
GCC Reads’ program methods, based upon evidence-backed research, have a proven track
record for increasing literacy and contributing to student academic success. Studies link leisure
reading to higher GPAs and greater student success overall (Burak). Group membership and
the development of campus relationships are strong contributors to student persistence. Plus,
reading for fun helps build vocabulary and increase syntax and comprehension skills (Trott,
Dahlen and Watkins).
GCC Reads’ methods provide academic instruction and student support through outside
skills practice, application, and engagement. The GCC Reads program complements the
“strategy and skills development approach” used in developmental reading courses by
encouraging students’ intrinsic motivation to read through fun, rewarding activities.
Goals and Objectives
The goals of the GCC Reads program are to increase participants’ literacy levels, and assist in
raising participant’s academic preparedness to meet the rigors of college level work. A beautiful
by-product of the program has been an increase in student participant self-confidence.
Program Implementation

Gila River Indian Community Grant Application
Grant Cycle 2017
While the GCC Reads program is open to the entire GCC community, the program targets in-
coming students whose assessment scores fall within developmental levels in math and
reading. These underprepared students are actively recruited for the GCC Reads program.
Honors students are recruited and trained to act as mentors for GCC Reads program
participants. Goal-driven activities are conducted within a safe, supportive environment among
peers, mentors and faculty. Activities include group and individual book reading, group
discussions, online discussions, public reading, interactive activities, incentivized goals,
mentoring, and student led creative literacy related projects. These activities are packed with
experiential and active learning techniques.
Experiential learning is a hallmark of the GCC Reads program. Examples include:
- Mentoring: The mentor/mentee relationship between Honors Students and participants.
Honor students serve as role models and reading discussion facilitators, guiding participants
to step into leadership roles.
- Open Panel Discussions: As each book is finished, a panel made up of content experts,
holds a Q&A discussion on the book’s topic and themes. These panel discussions serve to
strengthen the student/faculty relationship by engaging in a non-traditional, approachable
way.
- The GCC Reads program online blog discussions foster leisure-time reading while providing
another safe place for participants to build self-confidence. Students write book reviews, and
post their thoughts and opinions about each book to the blog.
- Incentives and Rewards: Participants earn extra class credit, receive incremental incentives
and GCC Reads’ t-shirts along the way, and those who complete the program are included
in a random prize drawing and receive a certificate of completion.
4. Describe how the proposed project satisfies one or more of the priority funding areas identified by the
Gila River Indian Community.
The GCC Reads program, free to students, began the fall semester of 2014 with three faculty on a
mission to assist in raising the reading levels of academically underprepared, incoming college
students to increase their success and persistence.
Recruited students participated in a dynamic, fun, incentivized, literacy club designed to
complement classroom curricula in raising reading levels and overall increased literacy.
Today, the GCC Reads Committee is led by a team of 12 faculty members across academic
disciplines with experience in developmental education best practices (see document listing
committee members.) The GCC Reads program is recognized as another level of vital support in

Gila River Indian Community Grant Application
Grant Cycle 2017
GCC’s efforts to assist underprepared, college-entry students in achieving a foundation of literacy
skills that will carry them forward to achieve their academic goals.
Methodology
GCC Reads’ program methods, based upon evidence-backed research, have a proven track record
for increasing literacy and contributing to student academic success. Studies link leisure reading to
higher GPAs and greater student success overall (Burak). Group membership and the development
of campus relationships are strong contributors to student persistence. Plus, reading for fun helps
build vocabulary and increase syntax and comprehension skills (Trott, Dahlen and Watkins).
GCC Reads’ methods provide academic instruction and student support through outside skills
practice, application, and engagement. The GCC Reads program complements the “strategy and
skills development approach” used in developmental reading courses by encouraging students’
intrinsic motivation to read through fun, rewarding activities.
Goals and Objectives
The goals of the GCC Reads program are to increase participants’ literacy levels, and assist in
raising participant’s academic preparedness to meet the rigors of college level work. A beautiful by-
product of the program has been an increase in student participant self-confidence.
Program Implementation
While the GCC Reads program is open to the entire GCC community, the program targets in-
coming students whose assessment scores fall within developmental levels in math and reading.
These underprepared students are actively recruited for the GCC Reads program. Honors students
are recruited and trained to act as mentors for GCC Reads program participants. Goal-driven
activities are conducted within a safe, supportive environment among peers, mentors and faculty.
Activities include group and individual book reading, group discussions, online discussions, public
reading, interactive activities, incentivized goals, mentoring, and student led creative literacy related
projects. These activities are packed with experiential and active learning techniques.
Experiential learning is a hallmark of the GCC Reads program. Examples include:
- Mentoring: The mentor/mentee relationship between Honors Students and participants. Honor
students serve as role models and reading discussion facilitators, guiding participants to step
into leadership roles.

Gila River Indian Community Grant Application
Grant Cycle 2017
- Open Panel Discussions: As each book is finished, a panel made up of content experts, holds
a Q&A discussion on the book’s topic and themes. These panel discussions serve to
strengthen the student/faculty relationship by engaging in a non-traditional, approachable way.
- The GCC Reads program online blog discussions foster leisure-time reading while providing
another safe place for participants to build self-confidence. Students write book reviews, and
post their thoughts and opinions about each book to the blog.
- Incentives and Rewards: Participants earn extra class credit, receive incremental incentives
and GCC Reads’ t-shirts along the way, and those who complete the program are included in
a random prize drawing and receive a certificate of completion.
5. Identify the needs/problems to be addressed, target population and number of people to be served by
the project.
GCC has identified a segment of its incoming student population as underprepared for college level
work in reading and mathematics, scoring below standards on mandatory academic assessments.
This is a problem because underprepared students will fail academically if they do not receive
much-needed extra support to prepare them to progress academically and succeed in college. To
prepare students for the rigors of college coursework, they enroll into Developmental Reading,
English, and or Math classes. Historically, student literacy levels achieve even higher gains when
students participate in the GCC READS program while concurrently enrolled in college classes. The
GCC Reads program will serve approximately 600+ students over three years (200+ students/year.)
6. Define the project as a new or continuing program.
The GCC Reads program is a continuing project.
7. Provide a brief timeline including start and finish dates. Indicate if the timeline is flexible.
The GCC Reads program start and finish dates align with the start and finish of each semester.
Program recruitment takes place the first week of every semester. If there are not enough
participants from Developmental Reading classes, recruitment is expanded to include
Developmental Math and Developmental English students, as well as First Year Experience
students. One justification for this extended reach is the correlation between math achievement
and reading ability (Caruthers).

Gila River Indian Community Grant Application
Grant Cycle 2017
The program begins with orientation, including completing the pre-program survey, connecting with
mentors, book choices/distributions, and receiving the program calendar of activities and weekly
book club meeting times. Depending on the book choices, activities will be planned to compliment
the book. Additional activities traditionally include: Participating in the GCC Banned Books Week
event; Taking photos for a “Got Caught Reading” poster to be featured in a GCC library newsletter;
A book drive; A read aloud event for participants to read a book to pre-school aged children;
Participants will design a library bookmark with a pro-reading message; Participating students and
faculty leads will pose for a “Library Read” poster and be interviewed by the college newspaper
about their participation in the book club. Participants who complete the program will be eligible to
win a prize. Each semester, a culminating event is held, such as the panel discussion, author visit,
or related literacy project. At the final book discussion, the post-survey is administered and data is
collected to compare affective changes in perceptions about reading, book clubs, the GCC library,
and college in general.
8. Identify other organizations, partners or funders participating in the project and their roles.
None at this time.
9. Would you be able to implement the proposed plan if your organization received partial funding for this
project?
Yes, a scaled down version, serving fewer students.
10. Describe your plan for project sustainability beyond the grant period. If this is a program/project
previously funded by the Gila River Indian Community describe efforts made towards the previously
described sustainability plan.
Due to budget cuts, the GCC Reads program will continue to seek private funding to sustain
activities beyond the grant period. Maricopa Community Colleges Foundation continuously seeks
funding through major gifts and grants to support programs such as GCC Reads.
11. Describe your plan to document progress and results.
The GCC Reads Program will document progress and results each semester in three ways:
1) Through comparing participants’ pre and post program surveys results (80% of participants
will report increased levels of positive feelings for leisure reading and campus engagement);
2) Through attendance tracking and rate of progress in completing the programs’ incremental
goals; and 3) Faculty will report student achievement in some percentage in measurable gains
in grades over the course of the semester (e.g.: Student A saw a 50% increase in the reading
class grade over the course of the semester).

Gila River Indian Community Grant Application
Grant Cycle 2017
12. Indicate any application to and/or awards made by a tribe other than the Gila River Indian Community
for state shared revenues for this and any other project for the past five (5) years. If this information is
included in a separate attachment, please indicate that here.
See attached.

Gila River Indian Community Grant Application
Grant Cycle 2017
Project Budget
Budget Period: 3 years (6 semesters): August 2017-May, 2021
For each budget item listed here please provide a narrative description on the following Project Budget Detail
page.
Proposed Budget Expense Amount Amount In Kind Total Budget
(list each budget item) requested from requested or contributions
GRIC secured from
other funders
1. Books $,9,000.00 $0 $0 $ 9,000.00
2. Marketing and Printed Materials $ 600.00 $0 $1,200.00 $ 1,800.00
3. T-Shirts $ 4,200.00 $0 $0 $ 4,200.00
4. Incentives $ 300.00 $0 $0 $ 300.00
5. Refreshments $ 900.00 $0 $0 $ 900.00
6. Click here to enter text. $0 $0 $0 $0
7. Click here to enter text. $0 $0 $0 $0
8. Click here to enter text. $0 $0 $0 $0
9. Click here to enter text. $0 $0 $0 $0
10. Click here to enter text. $0 $0 $0 $0
11. Click here to enter text. $0 $0 $0 $0
12. Click here to enter text. $0 $0 $0 $0
13. Click here to enter text. $0 $0 $0 $0
14. Click here to enter text. $0 $0 $0 $0
15. Click here to enter text. $0 $0 $0 $0
16. Click here to enter text. $0 $0 $0 $0
17. Click here to enter text. $0 $0 $0 $0
Total Budget $15,000 $0 $1,200.00 $ 16,200.00

Gila River Indian Community Grant Application
Grant Cycle 2017
Project Budget Detail
Please provide a narrative description for each of the project budget items listed on the previous page. Include
the dollar figure and how it was derived.
1. Books, $9,000 (6 semesters x 100 copies x $15): Each semester for six semesters, 100 copies of the vetted
book will be purchased for distribution to students and the committee. Books typically average $15 each and
are purchased at the best price from Amazon, Barnes and Noble or other sources. The grant will cover the
books.
2. Marketing and Printed Materials, $1,800: This line-item covers printed materials including bookmarks, fliers,
posters, certificates of completion, surveys, and progress sheets. In-Kind Portion. The grant will provide $600
toward the materials, and the English Department Chair will provide $1,200 of the costs for printing. A student-
created logo will be used on all materials.
3. T-Shirts, $4,200: Promotion of the program as a community building event will be done through the
purchase of 600 t-shirst for all participants (6 semesters x 100 t-shirts per semester x $7.) T-shirts will be
distributed mid-semester to promote sense of belonging and interest in future participation. T-shirt design will
involve student participation. The grant will cover the t-shirts.
4. Incentives, $300 ($50/semester) for 6 semesters: To reward consistent participation and persistence,
incentives will be given for attendance at book club meetings and events. Incentives may also serve to
promote the program as it becomes more visible on the campus community. Incentives may include but are not
limited to the following: Gift Cards, Books, Journals with GCCReads Logo, Pens, etc. The grant will cover the
incentives.
5. Refreshments, $900 ($150/ semester for 6 semesters): Light snacks for book club meetings and light
refreshments for events. Snacks may include trail mix, cookies, granola bars or fruit and small bottles of water
for book club meetings. Water, lemonade or tea and cookies are served at larger events. The grant will cover
the refreshments.
6. Click here to enter text.
7. Click here to enter text.
8. Click here to enter text.
9. Click here to enter text.
10. Click here to enter text.

Gila River Indian Community Grant Application
Grant Cycle 2017
11. Click here to enter text.
12. Click here to enter text.
13. Click here to enter text.
14. Click here to enter text.
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Other explanation: Click here to enter text.



References
Burak, Lydia. "Examining and Predicting College Students' Reading Intentions and Behaviors: An
Application of the Theory of Reasoned Action," Reading Horizons: 45.2, Article 4 (2004).
http://scholarworks.wmich.edu/reading_horizons/vol45/iss2/4
Caruthers, Tarchell Peeples. The Relationship Between Reading Level and Sixth Grade Students’
Acquisition of Mathematics Standards. Walden University, 2013. Print.
Center for Community College Student Engagement. “A Matter of Degrees: Promising Practices for
Community College Student Success (A First Look).” Community College Leadership Program (2012).
Austin, TX: The University of Texas at Austin. http://www.ccsse.org/docs/Matter_of_Degrees.pdf
Trott, Barry, Sarah P. Dahlen, and Steve G. Watkins. "A "Novel" Approach to Recreational Reading."
Reference & User Services Quarterly 53.2 (2013): 94-­‐99. Academic Search Premier. Web.

2016-2017 GCC Reads Program Committee
Co-chairs
• Dede Elrobeh, Faculty, Library
• Cindy Ortega, Faculty, Reading
Committee members
• Autumn Bolin-McKelvey, Faculty, English
• Holly Jacobus, Faculty, English
• Reid Leamaster, Faculty, Social Sciences
• Kimberly Mathes, CRW Director, English Faculty
• Heather Merrill, Faculty, Social Sciences
• Sean O’Brien, Faculty, Library
• Kelly Sindel, Faculty, Communication
• Aubrei Smith, Faculty, History
• Dr. Brandon Cleworth, Faculty, Humanities
• Renee Smith, Faculty, Library