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Edstar Analytics has been evaluating grants for over two decades!
Edstar is a woman-owned, private firm specializing in evaluations of grant-funded programs, professional development to build data-use capacity, resources to support grant writing, support for understanding how to use research to inform decisions, and streamlining data collection. Edstar has been evaluating grant-funded programs for NC school systems, universities, and non-profits for over 20 years. Edstar uses a core staff of specialists, with consultants to add quality on projects when needed. Consultants are used for field-specific experience. For example, when evaluating school counselor grants, Edstar has hired consultants with expertise in school counseling to ensure that the evaluation is not simply for accountability to the funding source, but also provides meaningful information to our clients. We often hire retired educators who have expertise that help context and communication. We have also used interns and graduate students over the years.
We have worked both for grant recipients, and for the funding agencies. Granting agencies we have worked for include NC Department of Public Instruction, NC Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Triangle United Way, Wake County SmartStart, Burroughs Wellcome Fund, and NC Partnership for Children. In these capacities, we have provided the infrastructure for and overseen the evaluation of the grants for all recipients from these agencies. Our learning center website (edstarlearningcenter.com) maintains a virtual library of helpful links, e.g., a Grant Writing Toolkit, Success Planner, and Family Involvement Plan.
Edstar’s extensive and continuous experience has given us expertise in working with North Carolina education data. Our extensive experience conducting professional development and leadership training for educators, using SAS EVAAS value-added data, developing and authoring curriculum, identifying and aligning intervention strategies for students, and integrating the North Carolina Teacher Evaluation Standards, as well as years of published research in education reform, will enable us to bring a comprehensive understanding to the challenges of implementing programs and plans that are research-based and data-driven.
For nearly a decade, we have conducted EVAAS training for school systems. We understand file structures, and we know how to interpret standardized test data. Additionally, we are well versed in state and local policies that impact program implementation and outcomes, and we know relevant federal definitions for things that impact grants. We have worked with and understand mClass DIBELS data. We know NC education policies, graduation requirements, and data systems. We have been trained on CITI and have formal policies for handling confidential data consistent with federal FERPA laws. Providing both respected national leadership in teacher education and trusted evaluation services, President of Edstar, Dr. Lee V. Stiff and CEO, Dr. Janet Johnson, are well-qualified to implement an accountability framework to support continuous improvement and document the effectiveness of any program we are asked to evaluate.
Professional grant-writers are welcome to purchase the toolkit or wizards for use in writing grants for others.
Grant-writing has become much more competitive in the last few years. Our research-nuggets, links to data sources, and information about policies can help increase the quality and competitiveness of the grants you write. The resources can also help professional grant-writers work more efficiently.
The Wizards are created on demand and priced according to complexity.
Less complex Foundation grant wizards start at $500. They include a cheat-sheet of critical formatting requirements, relevant research nuggets with citations, outline for the narrative, and notes on eligibility, competitive priorities, and other pertinent information.
The Wizard together with the toolkit can increase the number of clients you can serve, while increasing the quality and competitiveness of your proposals.
Prices are the same as purchasing for individuals.
“We can’t thank EDSTAR enough. They interpreted SAS data about our school and, based on the data, encouraged us to challenge more of our students. We’ve literally changed the culture of our school!”
– Elaine Hanzer, Principal of Wake Forest Rolesville Middle School, where 8th grade math proficiency rose from 66% to 82% after partnering with Edstar.