Proposal for St. Anthony's ESL Educational Program

St. Anthony Catholic Church318 Benton Boulevard

Kansas City, MO 64124816-231-5445

816-231-5446 (F)

A Grant Proposal for Teaching English as a Second Language

Reverend Joseph I. CisettiProgram Director

November 22, 2009

A Grant Proposal for Teaching English as a Second Language to Newly-Arrived Immigrants

Executive Summary

The current recession and general financial free-fall has greatly affected urban

Catholic Parishes in the Kansas City, Missouri area. These churches have always opened

their arms to new immigrants with limited English skills. These low-income families are

seeking help to learn English as a Second Language and St. Anthony’s Catholic Church

desires to help these immigrants to learn English and the American culture so they will be

able to interact with their new community and fit in better, increasing their abilities to get

better jobs and promotions.

The St. Anthony’s Proposed ESL & Computer Learning Center would be

instrumental in filling educational gaps of entire families. The adults would receive

individually designed instruction and one-on-one training to learn as much English as

possible as well as computer training in Word Processing. The children would be

appraised in a game-like manner that would determine where their educational gaps are

so that they will have the same opportunities as any child in America.

Students who complete their plan of learning successfully will be provided with

certified letters of achievement to encourage learning and present to employers. The best

students will be given the opportunity to take a job at the Center, learn the entire

workings of the operations, and start training their own students with close supervision.

They will become apprentice trainers. They will support newly-arrived families using the

same processes they went through. When enough of these students are full-time Center

workers in every facet of the operation, they will reinforce the original staff, allowing me

St. Anthony’s ESL & Computer Learning Center

to set up learning centers in another parish. They will be able to help more families with

a lower student-to-trainer ratio.

There is a need for a center like this in every urban Parish that encounters a high

rate of non-English speakers, newly arrived from countries with high rates of poverty and

virtually no hope for a reasonably happy future. They came here seeking a better life.

The first step toward that dream is to learn the language and culture of their new country

so that they can take their place along with other hard-working Americans.

There is no doubt these immigrants are already hard workers, sometimes working

menial labor, construction, and many times more than one job. They took the initiative

and risk to move their families, encountering harsh conditions and prejudice along the

way. Now that they are here in Kansas City, Missouri, we feel it is our duty to give them

as much help as possible, giving them the tools they will need for a full potential.

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Introduction

St. Anthony’s ESL & Computer Learning Center is an innovative concept in

education that will break the cycle of poverty for many immigrant families in Kansas,

City, Missouri. The adults will be taught how to reach their desired educational and

career goals. Our organization would function as a clearinghouse for eligible participants

to request and receive help in as many areas as they have need. As a non-profit

organization, we will manage and facilitate these requests.

The Need is Great

There has been a recent influx of immigrant families to low-income areas in

Kansas City, Missouri. Gaps in basic language and educational skills are holding back

many adults, limiting their ability to qualify for better paying jobs. Children who are

raised in poverty often do not receive enough nutrition, which makes learning difficult,

adding to the cycle of learning gaps and poverty.

A Unique Solution

St. Anthony’s ESL & Computer Learning Center will attempt to break the cycle

of poverty by filling the language and educational gaps through interactive computer

programs and one-on-one tutoring. Once the basic skills gaps are filled, each adult will

learn new and marketable skills that will ensure higher qualifications for better jobs.

The children will be taught in a Montessori-style educational program. They will

learn critical thinking skills and persuasive idea presentation. They will learn to work

together with family members and with fellow students on group projects.

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The Goals

The goal of St. Anthony’s ESL & Computer Learning Center is to teach the

family to act as a cohesive unit, planning and reaching goals for successful living. The

family needs to know that success is a tangible asset that they "buy" through education.

Success is achievable by all who are willing to work toward their goals. The method to

reach these goals is to make learning easy and fun. Self-paced computer program will

have built-in incentives as well as use of multi-media presentation of lessons.

Measuring the Attainment of Goals

The self-paced computer programs will keep track of each participant’s level of

success in each category of study. Interactively, the program will recognize when the

student is ready for the next level. These statistics will be entered into a database

automatically that will record each participant’s level of education at each session. Each

week the participant will receive a concise report of their success. Once the adult student

has finished filling their educational gaps, they will be individually interviewed regarding

the next courses of action available to them. If appropriate, they will be scheduled to take

their GED. Another outcome will be to prepare the adult for interview skills.

Summary

The ultimate goal for St. Anthony’s ESL & Computer Learning Center will be to

avail each adult with enough language and educational skills to make a living wage. One

option will be to seek higher education to reach better jobs. However, the goal for their

children is to give them a thirst for knowledge that will carry them through higher

education, thus breaking the cycle of poverty. The parents will understand the importance

of supporting their children’s efforts for higher education, and the children will have an

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insight into their parents’ struggle to reach their goals, thus nurturing respect for their

parents. This will result in a mutual support system that will strengthen the family as a

cohesive unit.


The vision statement of this adult education center revolves around equal

opportunity and will use self-paced e-technology to teach and/or upgrade computer skills

for all who are able to learn them. For those who have other needs or educational desires,

programs will be designed or sought out to accommodate them. While they are learning,

any child who is brought in for child care will be fed and taught at their various levels. I

envision a “Family Educational Center” that will be funded by government and/or private

educational foundations.

There is an advantage for an entire family to be involved in learning at a central

location. The children will see their parents furthering their education to get a better job,

and the parents will see the children thrive while learning. This emersion of the entire

family in training will go far toward breaking the cycle of poverty.

The Mission Statement of St. Anthony’s ESL Education Center is to start in one

low-income neighborhood as an outreach, but in no way connected to the local school

district. This will be a private, non-profit organization, funded by a wide range of

entrepreneurial and educational foundations. Especially in these economic times, we can

not leave low-income families behind in education or social welfare. Governmental cuts

may be necessary, but I am passionate that this area of education will be well-funded.

Included in the mission statement is a clause that will offer to the brightest

graduates of this program a salaried staff position to help train those that come

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afterwards. This clause will ensure that each participant work their hardest to understand

the program they are learning. When they are offered a position, they will also need to

understand the entire mission and vision of the organization, and become a part of future

innovation.

St. Anthony’s ESL & Computer Learning Centers’ business model will include

Reverend Joseph I. Cisetti as Program Director, and Debra J. Beatty as ESL Tutor and

Computer Trainer. The trainer’s job will be to tutor adults to first of all learn the English

language, and secondarily, to fill in any basic educational gaps. The Program Director

will be responsible as a mediator between the ESL & Computer Learning Center and the

Catholic Church Parish. The ESL Tutor and Computer Trainer will be responsible for

procuring on-going funding from governmental, public and private sources.

There are many large companies headquartered in Kansas City. As stakeholders

in the quality of future work applicants, these companies would be asked to help fund St.

Anthony’s ESL & Computer Learning Center. These companies include Hallmark,

Sprint, The Kauffman Foundation, University of Missouri, Kansas City (UMKC),

University of Kansas Medical Center (UKMC), Arrowhead Stadium (NFL), Kauffman

Stadium (Baseball League), The Linda Hall Library on the grounds of UMKC, and

Stowers Research Institute, just to name a few. All of these foundations and companies

are very concerned with low-income education and employment. When Mr. Kauffman

was alive, he chose a certain high school and entirely funded each student with a full

college scholarship. Mr. & Mrs. Stowers have funded the Stowers Research Institute

with an endowment of $1 Billion so that the scientists will never have to engage in fund-

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raising. All their energies are spent on biological research with a goal towards curing

diseases.

Kansas City is painfully aware of the disparity between wealth and poverty. All

the founders of the above companies and foundations started in poverty and have always

considered themselves blessed by their fortune, helped along with a lot of hard work.

They are all extremely generous in their endeavors to end poverty. Many foundations

fund education and offer on-going seminars to help people get started in small businesses.

St. Anthony’s ESL & Computer Learning Centers will become another conduit

for stakeholders to pursue their dreams of helping others. It goes far beyond what Kansas

City has seen so far to help the entire family to improve their lives. The value is in

helping the entire family in one center, which is unique, efficient and very effective.

Kansas City has many educational and welfare foundations. An endowment

would be preferable so that we are not forced to find new funding each year. With an

endowment, a large amount of money generates enough interest and dividends to fund an

organization while never having to touch the principal amount.

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Analysis:

In the low-income area where St. Anthony is located, there is a high ratio of

Hispanic to low-income white families. Although there have not been overt cases of

prejudice, or violence, there is an underlying discontent fueled by the resolve that

immigrants should learn English to be able to function better in their communities.

There is also a certain amount of tension that could be resolved by also offering

all members of the community free computer lessons. The ESL Tutor is also an expert at

Microsoft Office Suite of Programs (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and Adobe Acrobat. For

the community at large, a literacy improvement program could be a focal point for all

low-income families, no matter what their national origin. If the community at large

could see that improved education is not only an immigrant need, the entire community

could benefit from St. Anthony’s ESL & Computer Learning Center.

The Sylvan Learning Centers are well established with good reputations and high

visibility in the higher-income communities. However, they are for-profit centers and ask

a high price for their services. They do have a high success rate, and that is what we

strive for.

There is always a need to teach in the low-income immigrant communities. The

need in Kansas City, Missouri, is growing by the month due to continuing lay offs by

large companies that are headquartered in Kansas City. When Companies such as Sprint

and Hallmark lay off even 1% of their staff, it affects a large proportion of the low-

income communities.

With a additional education and computer training, a laid-off worker would not

have to take the first job that they could possibly qualify for. The attainable goal at the

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end of the mission is for St. Anthony’s ESL & Computer Learning Center to be a spring-

board to elevate the marketability for every Adult student.

Posted below are the largest fund grantors in the State of Missouri.

The top giving foundations in the state of Missouri: Foundation Name Total Annual GivingEwing Marion Kauffman Foundation $72,595,680 The Greater Kansas City Community Foundation and

Affiliated Trusts $63,388,075 Hall Family Foundation $27,236,813 Danforth Foundation $22,757,764 Emerson Charitable Trust $19,415,009 James S. McDonnell Foundation $15,815,410 Anheuser-Busch Foundation $13,481,956 Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation $11,859,652 Missouri Foundation for Health $11,474,940 Muriel McBrien Kauffman Foundation $11,462,766 William T. Kemper Foundation $10,439,611 JSM Charitable Trust $10,232,492 Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Foundation $10,168,858 Monsanto Fund $9,363,399 Servant Foundation $5,825,785 Greater Saint Louis Community Foundation $5,723,388 The Francis Families Foundation $5,550,778 Community Foundation of the Ozarks $4,614,480 Lutheran Foundation of St. Louis $4,400,110 Dana Brown Charitable Trust $3,683,180 Ameren Corporation Charitable Trust $3,620,786 Deaconess Foundation $2,734,432 Hallmark Corporate Foundation $2,677,756 Jewish Heritage Foundation of Greater Kansas City $2,615,808 The H & R Block Foundation $2,493,367 Sosland Foundation $2,176,337 Deer Creek Foundation $1,918,946 Interco Charitable Trust $1,871,585 Victor E. Speas Foundation $1,677,531 Courtney S. Turner Charitable Trust $1,672,579 American Century Companies Foundation $1,588,404 Mr. and Mrs. Lyndon C. Whitaker Charitable Foundation $1,567,326 Herman T. and Phenie R. Pott Foundation $1,447,000 John W. & Effie E. Speas Memorial Trust $1,387,815 Fox Family Foundation $1,358,450 Cardinals Care $1,351,631

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Commerce Bancshares Foundation $1,311,374 Daughters of Charity Healthcare Foundation of St. Louis $990,603 Brown Shoe Company Charitable Trust $974,962 Carrie J. Loose Trust $925,000

The unmet needs that St. Anthony’s ESL & Computer Learning Center will

attempt to fulfill are to provide a local place for the entire community to learn better

language and computer skills, to participate in educational seminars, and to learn critical

thinking skills.

One of the most important members of the staff will be the Employee Benefits

Staff. I want to make sure my employees are well taken care of in that area. St. Anthony’s

ESL & Computer Learning Center will be a non-profit organization and we want to

recruit the best staff possible to help the low-income families to learn new and

marketable skills, and fill in gaps of education for both the adults and their children.

Another important member of the organization will be the Grants Administrator

who will coordinate grant proposals to keep us well funded.

The trainers will be up-front and personal with our clientele. They are the "core"

of the staff, furthering our vision and mission to the community one family at a time.

An Executive Director will be needed to coordinate all the above as a "well-oiled

machine." As the Founder of the organization, I will be Chairman of the Board of

Directors. I will recruit leaders of each community where we set up a school to

participate on the Board of Directors. I am contemplating what compensation would be

appropriate for being on the Board.

Below is a chart showing the hierarchy of the staff and their compensation.

President and Chairman of the Board $100,0000

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Executive Director $75,000

Grants Administrator $75,000

Benefits Specialist $75,000

Trainers (Starting with 6, and adding as needed) $50,000

(ea)

Members of the Board

During a cash crunch I would seek maximum media exposure while taking

community leaders on a tour of the facilities so they could see first-hand what good

things we were accomplishing filling in educational gaps and teaching newer, more

marketable skills to children and adults of low-income families.

I would ask at the conclusion of the tour if they would help me seek full funding

for the center as long as the need existed. Because I would be located in the midst of the

low-income families for their convenience, they would be able to see how great the need

is to break the cycle of poverty. They would be able to meet some of my successful

families who have put their learning to good use. They would be able to also meet some

of the families with the greatest needs and how they are able to rely on the center for

food, clothing and learning.

I would not cut staff because many of them would be some of the very families

that have succeeded in my program. Another way to increase income flow would be to

appear on National Public Radio with some of the successful families. They always post

good stories on their website and so that would be a double possibility for charitable

giving.

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The only special program I would cut would involve paid speaker seminars.

Instead, I could have some of my adult students if they would like to share their stories

with the entire student body.

Another possibility of inflow of cash would be to have our own website that

would offer some of our courses for a nominal fee. Adding an on-line student body would

necessitate adding more trainers and could be beyond the scope of our mission and vision

statement, but it's something to take a look at. Perhaps our website could offer books for

sale that would showcase our program and tell of our successful families in the program.

Any interested reader would feel good about contributing to our cause while buying these

books.

Start-Up Capital Estimate


Monthly Costs

Monthly Expenses

Cash Needed to Start

% of Total Source of Estimate

Salary of owner-manager

$8,333

$16,667

8.8%$100,000/12

All other salaries and wages

31,250

93,750 49.3%

3 trainers, 1 ExVP, 1 Gr Adm

Grant Adm

75,000

Rent 5,000 15,000 7.9% Ex VP 75,000

Advertising 100 300 0.2% Trainer (50k ea)

150,000

Delivery expense

30 90 0.0% 300,000

Supplies 100 300 0.2% Benefits 75,000

Telephone 100 300 0.2% Annual 375,000

Other utilities

500 1,500 0.8%

Insurance 1,500 1,500 0.8%

Taxes, 500 2,000 1.1%

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including social securityInterest 50 150 0.1%

Maintenance 300 900 0.5%

Legal and other professional fees

500 1,500 0.8%

Miscellaneous

150 450 0.2%

Subtotal 48,413

$134,407

70.7%

One-Time Costs Cash Needed to Start

% of Total Source of Estimate

Fixtures and equipment $50,000

26.3%

Decorating and remodeling 2,000 1.1%

Installation charges 1,000 0.5%

Starting inventory

Deposits with public utilities

500 0.3%

Legal and other professional fees

500 0.3%

Licenses and permits 500 0.3%

Advertising and promotion for opening

500 0.3%

Cash 500 0.3%

Other 100 0.1%

Subtotal $55,600

29.3%

Total Estimated Start-Up Capital

$190,007

100%

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The type of resistance I may experience getting grants for St. Anthony’s ESL &

Computer Learning Center could be the pervasive notion that low-income families may

not be technically up to par to learn these types of skills. But there was a time that I was

making half of what I do now and knew nothing about computers. Then the computer

revolution burst out into the workplace with one computer in the entire office. We were

expected to learn "it" during our spare time (!). I took it upon myself to learn all I could

about the computer, even starting a bachelor's degree in MIS. Even though I once knew

nothing about computers, I quickly learned all I could. I created menu-driven database

programs with help screens using dBase I in the 1980s. I put all my company's client tax

deadlines in the database and created reports for them.

So the lack of experience in using computers can easily be overcome by simply

beginning a series of training courses. First you know nothing, then you know something,

then you build upon that step by step. Most computer programs now have all the menu-

driven commands and help files that are easy to use, even demonstrating step-by-step.

But the type of resistance I can imagine coming from the communities themselves

is that I would be coming into their neighborhood telling them what's good for them.

Simplistic as this sounds, it is an emotion to be validated and reckoned with. My response

would be in demonstrating to them that I want to train them to do what I do, and then for

the best of them to take over the center so I can start a new one where it is needed. I want

them to see that they can learn not only about computers to get better jobs, but if they are

willing, they can also learn about business by learning how St. Anthony’s ESL &

Computer Learning Center works and participating in making it work well.

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It's very much of a grass-roots movement and it would be wonderful to spread

these centers to so many areas and leaving them in newly capable hands of those who

took it upon themselves to learn what I learned and took it as far as they could. Many will

find good jobs for the first time in their lives with their newly acquired, freely-acquired

computer skills. The best will stay to teach the rest.

The Role of Technology

St. Anthony’s ESL & Computer Learning Center will be centered around learning

technology from the beginning of understanding basically how a computer works in

general terms to how it can be used to make many jobs easier. Computers will be the

conduit through which we train as well as the tool we use for administering our program.

But it is the expertise of both our training staff and our administrators that will determine

the success of our program.

Besides the computers mentioned above, it would be very helpful to have a server

that connects them into a network. This way only a site license will be needed for each

program instead of a license for each computer. This will be a savings to the program as

well as a technological advantage to eliminate duplication. Each training computer will

be more of a workstation that will be a savings to the program. It doesn’t have to have all

the “bells and whistles” many consumers enjoy.

Having a network will enable us to create a database that takes training results

from each participant straight from their computer and automatically compile them into

the database for analysis and reports. Other databases will be created for the use of

administering the program, right down to the ordering of supplies which will coordinate

with the supply vendors’ computers.

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It would also be useful to add to our staff an expert in network servers; a person

who can work alone, but know when to call for outside help. He would be our resident

computer expert and know how to fix all the little things that go wrong from day to day.

Once all the databases and report generating is set up in the network, running the

program will be very easy. The network and computer expert will keep the rest of the

staff from getting side-tracked so that we can fill in the educational gaps of our students,

which is our main focus.

Required Physical Resources

The first thing we require in the way of physical resources would be the building.

There are so many companies shutting down, especially in low-income neighborhoods,

that we could probably lease one cheaply. It should be big enough to partition off

classroom space and leave enough room for the staff offices, a cafeteria, and a

Laundromat. We may have to rehab the inside for this purposes plus hanging doors for

noise control. A receptionist area would be facing the door, but far enough away so that

entire families could register without being crowded.

Thirdly, we would need to obtain computers for each desk learning station. Each

room should have one printer that would be networked to each computer in that room.

I would like to be able to accommodate ten families or a combination of families

not to exceed 30 individuals.

Security

With all this expensive equipment in the building, we would want to have video-

surveillance equipment monitored by a security company such as ADP, as well as the

physical presence of manned security.

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Other required equipment secondary to the mission

Secondary equipment that will have a supporting role would be a cafeteria set-up

with a kitchen for the storage and cooking of mass quantities of nutritious food.

A tertiary equipment requirement would be several washers and dryers that do not

need coins to be operated. The families would load their wash with their own choice of

detergent, or whatever we have on hand from bulk purchasing. An attendant would then

transfer the clothes from washer to dryer and fold them when finished. This will allow a

family to enjoy their learning while the wash is being done for them. Just a little taste of

luxury that will ease their budget as well as give them the time needed to learn.

Consistent maintenance will be needed to keep these machines in good working order.

Inventory of Supplies

Supplies of paper, learning supplies, folders, stationery, copiers and a postage

machine will be needed to keep us operational. Everyday sanitary inventories would

include paper towels, soap, toilet paper and cleaning supplies. A cleaning crew of three

would need to be hired to maintain a healthy and happy atmosphere. We will probably

negotiate with the local Sam’s Club who offer special hours and savings for small

business owners. They have all the supplies we would need, plus the food. We could

save money by buying bulk. If we find that we bought more food than we could use

during one week, the perishable food would be sent home with the families. Food is a

terrible thing to waste.

Considering the Decision-makers

The decision makers in my case will be a professional grant committee at one of

several large private foundations in Kansas City, Missouri. Private foundations, created to

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preserve a family's wealth must, by law, give away 20% of the foundation's funds each

year or it will face tax consequences. So it is not a matter of lack of money, but, rather,

who will be convincing enough to share in the participation of a particular year's worth of

awards.

The Executive Director of the Muriel McBrien Kauffman Foundation is primarily

responsible for reading grant proposals and deciding which are the most deserving for the

year. Then the proposals are sent to the Chairman of the Board for Approval and check

signing.

Other organizations of my type who will be competing for the same grant money

are the YMCA, half-way houses for recently released inmates, and other charitable

learning centers. One way I can distinguish my organization from these others would be

to stress the breadth of services we will be offering for low-income people, catering to

their educational needs as well as nutritional needs and clothing needs. I will stress that

we will be promoting the best trained students to become part of our organization so they

can learn every aspect of the organization and potentially start a new center of their own.

It will be community-building as well as individual training.

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Material:Grant proposal for a non-profit family educational and social welfare center for low-income families.

____________________________________ Course: JIU EDU 544

____________________________________ Term: Winter 2008/2009

____________________________________

____________________________________

Please sign this form below, indicating whether you accept or decline to have your work added to the JIU Course Project Library. Acceptance is optional and is in no way a requirement of your course.

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Proposal for St. Anthony's ESL Educational Program

Documents

cycle of learning gaps

computer training

educational skills

learning easy

learning centers

plan of learning

lowincome families

basic skills gaps