Dollar General Literacy Foundation Grant Application

Project Title (required)

Please enter the project title.
Reading Technology for the Visually impaired

Requested Cash Amount (required)

Please enter the amount you are requesting from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation for this project ($5,000
maximum).
$4,180.00

Number of individuals to be served by funding from this Back to School application (required)
5

Projected Ethnicity Served (required)

Based upon the students that you currently serve, please estimate these numbers.
80% African-American
11% Hispanic
4% Caucasian
3% Asian
3% Mixed

Project Target Audience (required)

Visually impaired students

Have you received previous funding from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation? (required)
No

If Yes, what was the grant amount and when did you receive it?

Is this the first year of the project that you are requesting funding for? (required)
Yes

If it is not the first year for this project, then how many individuals were served by this Back to School project
last year?

Needs Statement (required)

Please provide a brief summary of the limitations and needs of your library or media center.
Mt. Zion High School is a Title 1 school which services the county’s visually impaired students who would
benefit from the addition of reading software designed specifically for their special needs.

Project Purpose and Outcomes

What is the unemployment rate? (required)
10.90%
What is the high school graduation rate? (required)
66.9%
What is the drop-out rate? (required)
1.3%
What is the poverty level in the geographical area served? (required)
70%
What is the free/reduced lunch rate at your school? (required)
70%
Project/Program Purpose (required) Please describe the project goals and objectives in terms of measurable
outcomes for the target population. Include the number of people to be served and the area in which services
will be provided. Outcomes should include the actual numbers, not percentages, of individuals who will be
served in order to attain your goals.
The goal of this Program is to enable students with visual impairments to access print and online information.
The objective is to provide the same quality of education to visually impaired students as is available to all other
students.

Budget Information

• Please complete the Budget Allocations section of this page specific to the project you are requesting
Dollar General Literacy Foundation funds.
• The budget should assume a grant disbursement schedule of 100% at project start.

Budget Allocations (required)

Please complete the following Budget Allocations. You will need to provide justification for the budgeted
amounts in the budget narrative question.

• Books $0.00
o $0.00

Total

• Computer $0.00
o $0.00

Total

• Instructional Materials $0.00

o $0.00

Total

• Software
o $1,095.00 – Jaws Screen Reader Software
o $1,095.00 – Jaws Screen Reader Software
o $995.00 – Open Book Software
o $995.00 – Open Book Software

Total $4,180.00

Total Budget Allocations:

$4,770.00
Budget Narrative (required)
JAWS® for Windows reads the information on a computer screen. As a result, a student will be able to use
the most popular software applications and the Internet. JAWS also outputs to refreshable Braille displays,
providing unmatched Braille support of any screen reader on the market.
The Open Book software converts printed documents or graphic-based text into an electronic text format on a
PC, using quality speech and the latest optical character recognition (OCR) technology. As a result, a student
will be able to scan any document and listen to the text on the computer.

Project/Program Design (required)

Summarize the design of the project/program components and how it will meet the stated purpose and
objectives.
The purpose of these software tools is to assist our visually impaired students in their efforts to attain literacy,
giving them the same opportunities as students without visual impairment.

State the timeline for accomplishing stated outcomes. The timeline should include project duration and number
of weekly instructional hours to be provided per student.
Training session for special ed teachers January
Pre-test information-gathering skills January
Student introduction February
Begin practice with software February
Begin research project March
End research project April
Assessment April

Measurable Results (required)

Describe the specific, measurable results that indicate the improvement you expect to achieve by the end of the
funding period. Avoid using ambiguous phrases such as “satisfied, improved, enhanced, etc.” to define success.
Use quantitative, not qualitative data to report results. Example: Twenty students will use the bilingual books
during weekly instruction with the reading specialist.
All visually impaired students will use reading software during weekly instruction to become familiar with the
software.
Assessment Methods (required)
Describe the methods that will be used to assess the effectiveness of the books, computers or software that will
be added to your library or media center. Describe the measurement tool that will be used to track education
gains and the frequency of measurement.
Students will be assessed weekly with standardized tests and assessed on a 2nd –term research project.
Available Technology (required)
List the technology available and utilized in your library or media center. If this question does not apply please
type in None.
None
Computers and Software (required)
List the number of computers as well as the software resources that will be used during direct instruction. If this
question does not apply please type in None.
3 computers