Feb 1, 2023

National Healthy Schools Collaborative Announces 13 Roadmap Implementation Grants to Activate Healthy Schools Ten-Year Roadmap

The National Healthy Schools Collaborative, a collective impact group of well-established, nationally recognized organizations at the forefront of the movement to create healthy schools that strengthen the mental, physical, and social-emotional health of all students and school staff, announced today the selection of 13 roadmap implementation grants. The announcement of the cohort of grantees follows a national call to action in the Healthy Schools Ten-Year Roadmap Released in July, 2022.

• AASA, The School Superintendents Association – will lead the collaborative’s federal policy agenda and associated advocacy work. 

• Action for Healthy Kids – will identify and partner with up to ten school districts to pilot a family-school partnership model that builds the capacity of educators and caregivers to work together to prepare kids to be healthy in body and mind.

• American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) -  AAP will partner with Children’s National Hospital in Washington, DC to advance their School Friendly Health Systems (SFHS) through a cohort of seven organizations interested in piloting the SFHS framework and learning collaborative concepts.

• Attendance Works - will develop and disseminate public awareness materials focused on tying students' attendance to student wellbeing, health, and learning.

• Center for School Health Innovation and Quality (CSHIQ) – will lead an effort to explore the state of school health data sharing systems and agreements.

• Child Trends – will create a healthy schools data visualization tool that will identify information from a variety of federal data collection surveys to create a data dashboard that will visualize correlations among variables at the district, state, and national level and track progress over the 10-year Roadmap lifespan.

• Healthy Schools Campaign – will support states and school districts in expanding access to school health services. This includes providing technical assistance on key issues related to sustainable funding, data sharing, and cross-sector collaboration.

• Playworks – will continue to be an active member of the NHSC and identify opportunities to advance healthy schools through their networks.

• National Association of School Nurses (NASN) – will create a toolkit and professional development resources to support educating key stakeholders about the linkage between health and education, and to increase capacity for state level advocacy and strategic partnerships. 

• National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) – will establish and enhance productive, collaborative, and trustworthy relationships  between state education leaders and subject matter health experts, parents and families, and the healthcare community. 

• School Social Work Association of America – will undertake a national count of school social workers and publish the results as well as associated material to help school districts understand the return on investment of hiring a social worker.

• SHAPE America – will work to raise awareness of the Roadmap through virtual presentations and convenings as well as participation in communication and advocacy activities with policy leaders across the country.

• The School-Based Health Alliance - will continue to be an active member of the NHSC and identify opportunities to advance healthy schools through their networks.

About RIG Grants - Applications are now closed.

• The National Healthy Schools Collaborative (NHSC) is a collective impact group of well-established, nationally recognized organizations working in health and education brought together by the Kaiser Permanente’s Thriving Schools. The NHSC believes that health is an essential precondition for teaching and learning.

• The NHSC will be expanded - by adding new member organizations - to focus on roadmap activation. 

• Roadmap Implementation Grants (RIGs) are intended to be used in service of roadmap activation as defined below.

• RIGs are designed to support the intended outcome of the roadmap: coordination and acceleration of the interconnectedness of health and learning so that every school succeeds, every educator excels, and every child thrives. Note: RIG grants are focused only on work happening domestically within the United States.

• RIGs are one-year seed grants of up to $75,000 intended to focus on work during the next academic year (2022-2023).  

• RIGs are focused on supporting projects that have the potential to scale to serve tens of thousands of students. 

• Organizations eligible for consideration of RIG grants include school districts, non-profit CMOs, state education agencies, health systems, non-governmental organizations and other not for-profit or for-profit entities that operate in the health and education sector. We are specifically looking to add the expertise of health systems, harbormasters (city or state), SEAs and LEAs, and organizations focused on mental health to the NHSC.

• RIG grant Statements of Interest are due August 1, 2022.

• A select group of organizations will be invited to submit a full RIG grant application. 

• Any organization not asked to submit a full RIG grant application will be invited to stay engaged with the community. 

RIG Grantee Commitment to the NHSC Community

• RIG grantees must commit to participation in the NSHC. Specifically organizations must: 

  • Ensure at least one representative from your organization attends each meeting (meetings are usually bi-monthly).

  • Actively participate in at least NHSC one sub-committee - as defined by meeting attendance, agenda development, and tasks TBD by sub-committee.

  • Respond timely to surveys and requests for information and feedback.

  • Contribute to the creation of a framework to collectively evaluate roadmap success.

  • Collaborate on shared messaging/awareness activities.

Implementation Commitment

• Organizations must select from three activation tracks to focus their RIG grant proposal:

  • Implementation: directly support the activation of priority areas outlined  in the roadmap

    • By, for example, creating pilots or supporting partners scaling programming

  • Education: raise awareness across the public, government, and NGO communities about priorities outlined in the roadmap

    • By, for example, writing op-eds, hosting webinars, or conducting direct advocacy

  • Research and Evaluation: extend the evidence base of priorities and opportunities outlined in the roadmap

    • By, for example, partnering with schools or districts to assess efficacy of an implemented intervention that was codified as an opportunity in the roadmap

RIG Frequently Asked Questions

CONTACT

• How do I ask a question about my RIG Statement of Interest proposal?

  • Please contact thrivingschools@kp.org. 

• What is the due date to respond to the Call to Effective Action?

  • August 1, 2022. 

• What kinds of organizations or entities are eligible to apply?

• Organizations eligible for consideration of RIG grants include school districts, non-profit CMOs, state education agencies, health systems, non-governmental organizations and other not for-profit or for-profit entities that operate in the health and education sector. We are specifically looking to add the expertise of healthy systems, harbormasters (city or state), SEAs and LEAs, and organizations focused on mental health. 

• Can an applicant submit multiple Statements of Interest?

  • Yes, as long as the Statements of Interest are for different projects. 

• Can a non-United States based company apply?

  • Entities that also have operations outside the United States may apply if they are working in partnership with the American education system(s).  

PROGRAM EVALUATION

• When will I know if I’ve been selected to advance to the full proposal stage?

  • Please allow a minimum of four weeks to consider your Statement of Interest. Timing will be subject to the number of applications received. After each step, applicants will be notified of their application’s status. 

PROPOSAL SUBMISSION

• Do I need to secure governance approval to relieve a RIG grant?

  • LEA and SEA leaders should consult with their local legal team to determine whether or not governance action is necessary to participate in this initiative. It is not a RIG grant requirement. 

• What is required in the Statement of Interest for a RIG grant?

  • PDF document of no more than two pages that answers the following:

    • Who is the project lead (name, position)?

    • Why are you interested in joining the NHSC?

    • What track will your grant focus on?

    • What is your organization going to do (what are the deliverables)?

    • What are the projected results of the deliverables (measurable outputs and outcomes)?

    • What is the level of funding you are seeking?

    • What major expenses will the desired funding be spent on?

    • Will you require additional funding to support this effort? If so, have you secured this funding? 

    • How will you prioritize equity in this effort?

• Can my application compliment or enhance existing initiatives?

  • Yes. 

SUPPORT

• How much funding will my application receive?

  • Selected grantees may expect to receive up to $75,000 depending on the size, ambition, and complexity of the proposed effort. 

• What is the commitment to participate in NHSC?

  • Ensure at least one representative from your organization attends each meeting.

  • Actively participate in at least NHSC one sub-committee (sub-committees TBD) - as defined by meeting attendance, agenda development, and tasks TBD by sub-committee.

  • Respond timely to surveys and requests for information/feedback.

  • Contribute to the creation of a framework to evaluate roadmap success.

  • Collaborate on shared messaging/awareness activities.

• Is the grant period prescribed, or up to applicants to propose based on needs of the program?

  • RIG grants are designed to support partnerships over the next academic year (2022-2023). 

• Can RIG grants be used to pay salaries?

  • RIG grants are not intended to cover the direct costs of personnel.