MetaVR Sponsors Patriot Incentive Award

MetaVR’s Patriot Incentive Award (PIA) is an opportunity for school teachers to obtain classroom funding and personal reward based on their creation and submission of a proposal for a teaching experience that transcends the normal school curriculum. This year, three high schools in West Virginia and one high school in Massachusetts were given Patriot Incentive Awards totaling more than $20,000. This competitive award was established in 1999 as a pilot program at Parkersburg South High School, Parkersburg W.V. and has been in operation since that year. The intent of this annual award is to acknowledge dedicated teaching and to provide an opportunity for educators to obtain additional classroom resources. Consequently, the recipient will receive a grant in the amount of $3,000 for classroom use and an additional $2,000 as a personal award, for a total value of $5,000.

The success of the program, in part, is predicated upon a sponsor. Schools need to identify at least one sponsor willing to manage the award each year. Sponsors could include an alumnus, parents of students attending the school, or other benefactor for providing the funding and facilitating the subsequent evaluation of the proposals on an ongoing basis. It is likely that different sponsors would fund the program each year. MetaVR employees who have been at the company at least one year can sponsor a PIA through MetaVR.

Teachers who want to apply for this incentive award must write and submit a narrative clearly explaining an idea for using the $3,000 component of the award by referencing the Patriot Incentive Award Scoring Rubric. This narrative must include a rationale for the proposed use of the funds, specifying how the material additions would improve opportunities for students in their classroom.

CLASSROOM BENEFITS

Consider how the funds could help students to do the following:

• Accelerate learning specific concepts in a designated subject area.
  
• Increase development of a positive attitude toward learning.
  
• Approach technology with higher-order thinking skills.
  
• Gain opportunities that are unattainable in the present classroom.
  
• Increase self confidence.
  
• Meet relevant School Content Standards and Objectives.

The proposals deadlines and subsequent awards are intended to be awarded at the beginning of the school year so that the recipient has the full school year to implement his or her enhanced curriculum.

The following criteria apply to the review panel that grants the award:

REVIEW PANEL

• Each year, the award recipient will be selected by a panel designated by, but not including, the donor, alumnus, or school staff.
  
• Each year, the award recipient will be selected by a panel designated by, but not including, the donor, alumnus, or school staff.
  
• The review panel award cannot be an internal decision by school staff.
  
• A minimum number of proposals are required before an award can be considered with the standard being no less than eight (8).

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

The following criteria apply to the award candidate:

• Proposals should not exceed four (4) pages in total length.
  
• The attached cover sheet must be submitted with the application proposal.
  
• The proposal must contain:
   - Statement of current curriculum
   - Description of a clearly defined, enhanced classroom experience that goes beyond current curriculum
   - Narrative that creates a real-life scenario for the reader as to how the award would work on an applied level
   - Performance target or outcomes (objectives to be met by the proposed program and how they will be measured)
   - Statement quantifying the return on investment (how many students will be exposed to the augmented class experience, the projected impact on the students).
   - Detailed budget
  
• All proposals must be submitted by the announced deadline to the principal, who will see that they are forwarded as a group to the review panel.

APPLICATION MATERIALS

Below are the MetaVR Patriot Incentive Award documents in Microsoft Word format, available to download.

• Patriot Incentive Award Application cover sheet
  
• Patriot Incentive Award description
  
• Patriot Incentive Award scoring rubric
  

COMMITMENT OF GRANT RECIPIENTS

Award recipients must submit, within one year of the grant, verification of expenditures, and a description of how the grant was put to use and the resulting impact.

Any school receiving the award must agree to create its own web page on the school's web site that describes the program, year to year award recipients, summary of the winning proposals, and links to all the schools that sponsor a Patriot Incentive Award.

Schools sponsoring a PIA:

• Parkersburg South High, Parkersburg WV (since 1999)
• Parkersburg High, Parkersburg WV (2004)
• Williamstown High School, Williamstown, WV (2004)
• Bigelow Middle School, Newton, MA (2004)