Since 1996 the Bank of Ripley has sponsored grants for individual classroom teachers in the eight schools of the Lauderdale County Education System. More than $248,000 has been given since the implementation of the grants. The grants have been based on innovative, creative, and effective initiatives that assisted teachers with their curriculum and emphasized programs that were not covered through traditional school funding. Special consideration was given to applications geared toward math, reading, and science to increase levels of test scores of our students.

Craig Fitzhugh, Chairman and CEO, is pleased to announce that the Bank of Ripley, a community bank, will once again sponsor and provide funding for these grants. Entitled Expanding Minds Grant, the goal of these awards (up to $300 per teacher) is "Expanding Minds for Greater Achievement" for all students in the community. Special emphasis will be given to the applications geared toward use of technology, community spirit, reading, and exploring science/math, all with the goal of assisting with quality achievement for students.

• Grant Application

The Grant Application is in Adobe Acrobat® (PDF) format and requires Acrobat Reader. If you do not have Adobe installed, please click on the icon for a free download.

Eligibility:
Teachers employed in the Lauderdale County Education System are eligible.

**Limited to teachers who have direct classroom instructional involvement.

Application:
Use only the official form provided by the Bank of Ripley at www.bankofripley.com.

Original grant proposals must be typed or printed in black or blue ink.

Teacher and principal of the school must sign the application form.

Scoring Process:
A team of community readers will review the Grant proposals.

Proposals promoting academic excellence will be scored by the following criteria:

• Creativity
  
• Benefit to students/school/community
  
• Motivational Impact
  
• Effective Use of Funds

Special consideration will be given to proposals geared at improving test scores.

Funding:
The grant funds awarded will not exceed $300 per teacher.

Partial grants may be awarded.

Notification of awards will be made by the first week in November.

Response by grant recipient:
The project must be implemented by March of the following year.

Recipients may be asked to participate in an on site visit by a member of the Grant Review Team and/or representatives of the Bank of Ripley.

Recipients are invited to share their experience with other teachers/general public.

Evaluation and receipts are due no later than Friday, April 5, 2013.

***ALL applications become the property of the Bank of Ripley- Ripley, TN and the Lauderdale County Board of Education. They will not be returned after the grant process.

***Tangible items can move with teacher from school to school in the system, but remain with the Lauderdale County Education System should the teacher leave the employment of the school system.

Through the Educational Grant Program, we hope that you will be able to expand on the required classroom curriculum and put dream projects into action. We invite you to apply!

BANK OF RIPLEY
"Partner in Education "

For more information about Expanding Minds Grants, please contact Julie Neal at jneal@bankofripley.com or call 635-1230.

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