Beginning in 2022, EALA has granted an annual unrestricted competitive sub-grant and year-long mentorship to support leaders of color, or allies of the equity in education movement, who are actively working to support students with disabilities, including students who are also marginalized, come from underserved communities, or experience poverty. Additionally, EALA has provided two additional $5,000 sub-grants to runners-up as determined by the panel of New Champions judges.
As a part of this process, funding applications are vetted by the EALA review team and reviewed by the diverse group of New Champions Fund Judges using this EALA New Champions Rubric.
Lisa Mosko Barros is the founder of SpEducational, a non-profit organization focused on empowering families of students with disabilities to effect positive systems change in special education. Known for her deep policy expertise and collaborative leadership, Lisa has held key advocacy roles with the Oakland REACH, Speak UP, and LAUSD’s Special Education CAC.
“The EALA Champion Fund will help us expand our IEP Empowerment Workshops and community organizing efforts and enable us to co-create family-focused surveys, data reports, and toolkits—by and for the families we serve.”
– Lisa Mosko Barros
Read more at Read more at speducational.org.
Math N’ More was founded in 2020 to support all learners, especially K-12 and exceptional education students, in achieving success in math. With a mission to provide engaging, accessible, and FUN STEA(M) education, they’re moving the needle for students and families through advocacy, confidence-building, and measurable academic gains.
“This funding will help us expand Math N’ More’s reach, empowering even more students with access to high-quality, universal math instruction designed around learner variability and cultural relevance.”
– Dr. Christopher Roblész
Read more at linkedin.com/company/mathnmore.
“With 90% of SPED vacancies in our district found in Title I schools, we’re committed to ensuring all students with disabilities receive the excellent education they deserve.”
– Matt Cheek
Read more at nashvilleteacherresidency.org.
“With a $35,000 grant from the EALA New Champions Fund, Extreme Kids & Crew will continue our partnership with NYC public libraries to develop bilingual programs for neurodiverse girls and teens. These programs will profoundly impact under-resourced neighborhoods and create brave spaces for girls to be.”
-Lovisa Brown
Read more at extremekidsandcrew.org.
Start Lighthouse is dedicated to eradicating childhood illiteracy and closing the literacy gap by providing diverse books, interactive literacy programs, and family engagement activities. They work with schools, community centers, and public spaces to make literacy resources accessible and engaging for all children.
“This September, Start Lighthouse’s Literacy Hub model will extend its services to District 75, providing specialized literacy support for students with significant challenges such as Autism Spectrum Disorders, cognitive delays, and sensory impairments. The funding will enable us to expand our reach and enhance our programs, ensuring every child can experience the joy of reading. By opening our third Literacy Hub equipped with multicultural books, adaptive learning materials, and technology, we aim to address the critical literacy needs of the Bronx and NYC. Additionally, we will invest in comprehensive training for our educators to deliver inclusive and culturally responsive teaching. Our goal is to close the literacy gap and provide every child with the opportunity to succeed academically and beyond.”
-Rina Madhani, Start Lighthouse
Read more at startlighthouse.org.
“There are 7.3 million public school children with identified disabilities. More than 52% are BIPOC. By forming a community of critical supporters that values the culture and the voices of these students and their families, we have an opportunity to re-imagine special education advocacy and eliminate educational inequalities experienced by generations of children with disabilities.”
-Erika Watson, Intersection Collective
Read more at intersectioncollective.com.
Founded in 2019, The Transition Academy (TTA) is a nonprofit organization created to improve postsecondary outcomes for high school special education students in Kansas City Public Schools and charter schools. The Transition Academy supports young people with autism or developmental disabilities explore college or career options as they prepare to transition from school to life as an adult.
“We plan to use the EALA New Champions award to purchase career discovery assessments designed by special education teachers that have photos of work skills in action and require little, if any, reading skills. We will pay teachers, who designed the assessments, to train us and purchase their assessments. We will also use funding to pay stipends to black men who are recently or semi-retired to serve as program specialists. Black boys are overrepresented in special education, but rarely interact with black teachers. We want to fill this gap by connecting them with black men who will teach hands-on job skills and serve as mentors.”
-Kim Riley
Read more at thetransitionacademy.org Follow @TheTransitionAcademy on Instagram Follow The Transition Academy On LinkedIn Find The Transition Academy on Facebook Subscribe to @TheTransitionAcademy on YouTube Email info@thetransitionacademy.org
Expert IEP’s goal is to empower caregivers of youth who think and learn differently to participate as valued members of the IEP team. They work to leverage machine learning to elevate caregiver assets, help caregivers advocate for clear and appropriate IEP goals, and monitor service delivery as well as overall student progress. Expert IEP is the first IEP optimization app for families by families.
“With this funding, Expert IEP plans to produce marketing videos in English and Spanish, expanding our reach and promoting our mission to a wider audience. We also aim to onboard 1,300 families from our waiting list by hiring a part-time neurodivergent support technician. By doing so, we can provide personalized support, bridge the achievement gap, and promote equity in education for students with learning differences.”
-Antoinette Banks
Read more at expertieps.com Follow @expertIEP on Instagram Follow @expertieps On Twitter Find Expert IEP on Facebook Follow Expert IEP on LinkedIn
Ujamaa LLC was created to solve problems in education and wellness that the larger public institutions have not been successful in addressing. The owner and founder, Nekia Wright, has been a special educator for 16 years and recently served as a contract teacher to support school districts in recovering from the disruption of the pandemic. Ujamaa LLC offers community wellness and sound meditation services to communities throughout the Bay Area, Mexico, Guatemala, and Zimbabwe.
“We plan to use this funding to support the inaugural Youth Leaders Program this fall. For this particular project, we will recruit youth leaders from the New England Region and New York City, host the Youth Leaders Program, and engage in reflective analysis to develop subsequent youth leaders programs and the LiberatED curriculum. The LiberatED Youth Leaders Program is a 8-month fellowship that provides youth activists an opportunity to partner with LiberatED educators and researchers committed to creating culturally affirming school programming and evaluation.”
-Dena Simmons Ed.D
LiberatED centers radical love, healing, and racial and social justice in education so that all children can live, learn, and thrive in the comfort of their own skin. They work alongside youth, educators, and educational leaders in school and school district communities, particularly those that are predominantly Black, Indigenous, Latinx and other People of Color (BILPOC) and that have been systemically and institutionally marginalized. They partner with educators and educational leaders to support the implementation of LiberatED’s liberatory practices not only in their own lives for greater self-care and wellness, but also in their school communities to meet the unique social, emotional, academic, and mental health needs of students.
“We plan to use this funding to support the inaugural Youth Leaders Program this fall. For this particular project, we will recruit youth leaders from the New England Region and New York City, host the Youth Leaders Program, and engage in reflective analysis to develop subsequent youth leaders programs and the LiberatED curriculum. The LiberatED Youth Leaders Program is a 8-month fellowship that provides youth activists an opportunity to partner with LiberatED educators and researchers committed to creating culturally affirming school programming and evaluation.”
-Dena Simmons Ed.D
Read more at linktr.ee/liberated_sel Follow @liberated_sel on Instagram Follow @LiberatED_SEL On Twitter Find LiberatED on Facebook Email info@liberatedsel.com
Dr. Charles Cole III focuses on building agency amongst the end-users of public education including students, their parents, and the community. Throughout his career, He has held roles as a social worker, a program director at prominent youth organizations, a teacher trainer and supporter, a top official in a school district, and a scholar before starting his organization.
“We have one major goal and reason for this funding–Build and execute our expansion plan worthy of our end-users.
I built this organization to serve youth like me. Youth that may have been homeless, grew up in poverty, watched their friends murdered, etc. that were tired of waiting on systems that never served us. We continue to grow this work because our team understands with profound clarity that no one or no entity is coming to save us.”
-Dr. Charles Cole III
Read more at charlescoleiii.com Follow @ccoleiii on Instagram Follow @ccoleiii On Twitter Subscribe to the Dr. Charles Cole III Youtube ChannelExplore the Request for Proposals document below. Make a copy and draft your responses before navigating to the submission portal.