Capacity Building Grants
Building on our success in the 2024-2025 school year, FSE will continue its capacity building grant program in the 2025-2026 school year. FSE is committed to ensuring districts across Delaware have the opportunity to work with their communities and propose solutions that meet the unique needs of their communities.
Our grant program is designed to support Delaware school boards members who are interested in testing new approaches to enhancing board governance, strengthening community ties, and driving improvements in student outcomes. Through these grants, FSE provides school board members with support they need to implement innovative solutions, further their professional development, and strengthen their leadership capacities.
FSE will collect lessons learned from grant projects so that school board members across Delaware can benefit from their colleagues’ learnings, insights, and experiences.
2024 - 2025 Grant Winners
First State Educate is excited to celebrate the achievements of our 2024-2025 mini-grants program. Last year’s winners made impressive strides:
Fostering Collaboration: Connecting New Castle County school districts to share ideas and resources.
AI-Driven Innovation: Revising district policies with artificial intelligence to boost student outcomes.
These grants spark innovation, support professional growth, and empower leadership, with lessons learned shared to inspire all Delaware school boards.
Ready to make a difference? Apply for an FSE mini-grant this year and bring your bold ideas to transform education in your community!
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This initiative aims to foster a network of collaborative school board members across New Castle County, enabling them to share best practices, address common challenges, and advocate for improved educational outcomes for all students. Through surveys, convenings, and post-event evaluations, this project will identify current communication practices, assess interest in increased collaboration, and establish shared priorities among board members. Activities include hosting two convenings—one focused on building personal connections and identifying common interests, and the second utilizing CliftonStrengths to enhance collaboration on shared priorities and explore virtual platforms for ongoing dialogue. Deliverables include a summary report detailing findings and lessons learned, a comprehensive collaboration toolkit with templates and strategies for replication, and a visual feedback summary showcasing the benefits and recommendations for future partnerships. This project supports the creation of stronger connections and impactful decision-making across school boards, with the potential to expand to other counties.
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This initiative aims to explore how incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) into school board policies can enhance student achievement. This initiative involves collecting and evaluating existing board policies related to the learning environment, teaching, and student outcomes using research-based criteria. The project will develop a timeline of policy revisions, conduct a comparative analysis with districts recognized for effective AI integration, and survey stakeholders—including teachers, administrators, parents, and students—on their perceptions of AI in education. Deliverables include a summary report evaluating current policies and their impact on student outcomes, evidence-based recommendations for policy improvements to incorporate AI, and a community feedback summary highlighting stakeholder perspectives. By identifying and addressing gaps in policy, this project provides actionable strategies for leveraging AI to support student learning and create a framework for continuous improvement.
Rubric
The rubric for the FSE Capacity Building grants is designed to identify high-impact projects that align with FSE’s mission to strengthen Delaware school boards and enhance education. It evaluates applications based on clear, detailed qualifications, thorough district analysis, and a well-defined issue or challenge. Proposals are also assessed for their focus on professional development or community engagement, logical and justified budget plans, realistic project timelines, and robust evaluation strategies. Applications are scored on a competitive scale, with top consideration given to those showcasing the greatest potential for transformative impact. Apply now to turn your innovative ideas into reality!
Please submit your questions about your application here.
The 2025 - 2026 application window opens
October 1, 2025.