When this year’s StFX Faculty of Education B.Ed. student society executive realized they had a significance surplus of funds leftover from previous years, they immediately knew they wanted to use a portion of it to impact local schools that have been so pivotal in their development.
They also wanted to come up with a way that education students could be involved in the process.
“While we didn't want to spend the entirety of the surplus that we have inherited, the student executive believed that we should use a portion of the money to make an impact in the local schools that have supported StFX B.Ed. students during our practicums. To do so, we have launched an initiative called Education Gives Back,” says Evan Fortin, who with Amanda Biddiscombe and Victoria Rankin, co-chairs the initiative.
All three are second year education students.
Mr. Fortin of Stratford, ON says originally they thought of just giving the money to the schools, but they wanted to come up with a way that B.Ed. students could be involved. “This led us to come up with putting on a pitch competition. This way, we could still make an impact in local schools, while also allowing B.Ed. students to get involved and participate in this event.”
The result is a grant proposal pitch competition open to all B.Ed. students.
Mr. Fortin says interested students will have opportunity to develop an idea for how they could use a grant to support the school/class where they are doing their practicum.
"Education Gives Back is all about using what we've learned to give something meaningful back to the schools that have helped us grow. It’s a chance for B.Ed. students to make a positive impact while developing the skills they’ll need as future educators,” says Ms. Biddiscombe, who is originally from Ottawa, ON.
Ms. Rankin of Antigonish County, NS agrees. "Giving back to the educators, students, and support staff who provided us with the opportunity to gain real-world teaching experience is the least we can do as pre-service teachers, especially since we have the means to do so."
Mr. Fortin says providing their fellow B.Ed. students with a fun opportunity to compete for a prize while also making an impact in the local community is an incredible way to inspire positive change both inside and outside the classroom.
Students will turn their idea into a grant proposal, outlining how this idea would support the school community. The top grant proposals, as selected by a panel of judges, will move on to the next round of the competition. At this stage, shortlisted students will pitch their grant proposals to the panel.
The panel will judge the proposals on the quality of pitch, impact, equity, and feasibility and then select the top three entries. The top three winners will receive prize/bursaries of $1,000, $750, and $500 respectively. Additionally, the Education Students' Society will spend $2,000, $1,500 and $1,000 respectively to purchase the materials needed to implement the winners’ ideas.
These materials will be donated by the society directly to the schools where the top three finishers did their practicum placements.
“By hosting this competition, we are hoping to use some of our surplus money to make a meaningful contribution to three local schools. Additionally, B.Ed. students will have an opportunity to compete for a prize while also developing soft skills that are crucial for educators to have,” the three say.
Students have until February 5th at noon to fill out an online application form in which they describe their idea. Shortlisted applicants will be informed on the evening of February 7th that they are moving on to the in-person pitch. The pitches will be presented on February 12th, and the winners announced on February 21st at the B.Ed. professional development day.
