the Gates Foundation Community Initiative

The San Juan Island community and Friday Harbor High School have been honored by the Gates Foundation by the award of a significant grant to incorporate more projects and applications into the curriculum. In addition, the community will be awarded a large grant for support of a community projects. The school and community will integrate around these projects with students taking a lead in it's organization and implementation. The Senior Culminating Project, a proposed two credit requirement for graduation, will be the curricular vehicle for the execution of the community project.

What follows are excerpts from the chronology of events since February 2002, when the idea of a partnership with the Gates Foundation evolved.

BACKGROUND

View the February 2002 press release from the Gates Foundation, with Governor Locke, announcing the Connecting Schools to Communities Initiative by clicking here.

Download the "Request for Information" (an Adobe Acrobat document) from the Gates Foundation asking for information from interested schools by clicking here.

Part of the possible award would involve incorporating principles of a "High Tech High". View those attributes by clicking here.

View the FHHS response to the Request for Information by clicking here.

OUR COMMUNITY FORUM IN AUGUST, 2002

View Dr. Alison Olzendam's PowerPoint presentation from the Forum here.

View the list of of community members on the initial Steering Committee and of students who helped facilitate the small groups here.

View the Needs and Challenges that were identified at the forum here.

View an overview of the Forum's results here.

View the brainstormed ideas and their preliminary categorization here.

THE EVOLUTION OF A PROPOSAL

We have received a "Request for Proposals" from the Gates Foundation. View that RFP here.

Briefly, the RFP requires a detailed description of how we will meet the objectives of a "High Tech High" and a detailed introduction to our community project. While the Gates Foundation is willing let the details of the community project evolve over the next several months, we owe it to ourselves to maintain August's momentum by continuing with an intense exploration of the alternatives. This site, more than anything else, is designed to facilitate and encourage that.

We have formed a Steering Committee (click here to view membership) that will assist us in organizing and synthesizing the brainstormed ideas for our proposal. This group will be meeeting on Mondays, September 16, 23, 30, and October 7 at 3:30 in the High School Library. Dr. Olzendam, from WSU's Center for Bridging the Digital Divide and representing the Gates Foundation, will join us on September 30. Feel free to join us and participate in the development of the community project. The high school staff will also be meeting and reviewing strategies to accomplish the high tech high mission.

The Steering Committee played a vital role in the evolution of the concept for a "Center for Student Action". View the history of the Steering Committees efforts here.

View the October 15, 2002 proposal that resulting from these efforts here.

We met with Dr. Olzendam on February 24, 2003. View our preparation for that meeting here.

On June 15, 2003, we submitting our second, revised proposal for $400,000. View that revision here and its budget here.

On June 15, 2003 we presented our ideas to a review panel. Download our 3 MB PowerPoint presentation here.

Finally, on August 15, 2003 we submitted a second revision to the proposal! At the request of Dr. Olzendam, we reluctantly reduced the budget to $220,000 by eliminating WSU 4H and their Teen Beach Watchers Project. View this last revision here and its budget here.