Education is a primary factor that shapes every man’s life. The right to education, being one of the fundamental human rights, entitles everyone, especially children to access and receive the best possible academic training that their country can provide to them. More so, these vulnerable members of the society deserve to learn and acquire all the knowledge that they can obtain from academic institutions due to the following importance in their well-being:
· Education is considered the best tool that equips every human being to achieve success.
· It is a great way to develop knowledge, skills, and abilities.
· It gives us the capability to face the barriers and impediments in obtaining better opportunities.
· It provides every individual to acquire a well-paying job.
· More importantly, it enables us to fight poverty, consequently gives financial freedom.
It is undeniable that every child needs to attend schooling to get ahead in life. Nonetheless, first-rate primary and secondary educations are said to be the most substantial stages to each student for his/her successful transition from high school to much higher academic achievement because these times, according to experts, are the strong founding years for their cognitive development.
Meanwhile, despite the importance of primary and secondary schoolings to the academic forming years of children, still, public schools in most districts have been suffering from the effects of the slash in their budgets. In recent years, K-12 funds were cut by $1.8 billion nationwide, according to reports. The allocation may be expected to reach up to $2.5 billion, thus, there will be inadequacy in distribution for several school resources. To take the rap for the shortfall, school officials are often forced to reduce or worse eliminate personnel or even teachers, and those significant programs vital to the high assailable population-the financially-inadequate and minority students.
Recognizing the significance of learning to the society and economy, there are funding opportunities through formula-based grant programs that are being offered by several public and private institutions to meet and improve the special needs of both elementary and secondary students across the country. K-12 grant is one of them.
Federal government agencies and private foundations endow education grant money to deserving qualified individuals, schools, and not-for-profit organizations. Though money received from academic grants never has to be paid back, application can at times be a long process and it requires plenty of preparation, as well as research in the following areas:
· Budget directions
· Project narrative
· Budget justification
· Goals and objectives
· Justification for the needs of the project
· Plan on how to evaluate the success of the project
· Timetable for the project development
In addition, to obtain funding, applicants should adhere to the guidelines, goals, and mission of the giving foundations. On another note, there are various types of academic grants, including:
· Educational technology funding assistance
· Educational research scholarship
· Cultural affairs endowment
· K-12 grants
· Post-secondary scholarship
· Professional development financial aid
· Funding awards for theater
· Financial aid for performing arts
There are no magic formulas, short cuts, or any sure-fire methods in acquisition of an academic grant but below are helpful tips that can assist you in obtaining one:
· Know the several types of available funding sources.
· Be on lookout for available grants.
· Match your goals with the funding source’s.
· Create a thorough, detailed, and auspicious funding application.