LivingTree Announces Second Round of Drako Grant Recipients

    AUSTIN, TX, May 23, 2017 /24-7PressRelease/ -- LivingTree today announced that it has awarded $250,000 in second round Drako Community and Family Engagement Grants for Schools to districts and campuses throughout the United States. A diverse set of PK-12 school communities representing 11 different states and varying socio-economic needs were awarded the second round Drako Grants. The grants provide a private, secure LivingTree Tiered Social Network -- including all engagement features, SIS integration, setup, upkeep, training, and support -- at no cost for one year.

The second round awards represent 25% of the Drako Grant total set at $1 Million as announced in April 2017. The first round of awards announced in early May also represented 25% of the Grant total. Schools and districts that wish to apply for the remaining $500,000 have until June 1st, 2017.

"The number and quality of applications demonstrates the need for technology in engaging families," said Dean Drako, grant benefactor and LivingTree Chairman. "It's an honor to work with the diverse group of schools and districts pursuing family engagement initiatives to improve student achievement."

LivingTree is excited to share the second round recipients.

Second Round Grant Award Recipients Include:

- Leander ISD - Austin, TX
- New York Public Schools District 13/17 - Brooklyn, NY
- La Joya ISD - La Joya, TX
- Cobalt Institute of Math and Science - Victorville, CA
- McIntosh Elementary School - McIntosh, AL
- AKTIV Learning Academy - Virginia Gardens, FL
- Grace Christian Academy - Port St. Lucie, FL
- Willingboro High School - Making Visions Possible Program - Willingboro, NJ
- Foster Elementary PTO - Hingham, MA
- John J. Pershing I.S. 220 - Brooklyn, NY

"The excitement shown by the applicants from across the United States is contagious," said Joni Carswell, CEO of LivingTree. "The LivingTree team is enjoying working with round one winners on their plans for next year and thrilled to begin planning with the round two recipients."

To learn more and apply for the grant, please visit: Drako Family Engagement Grant.

Second Round Award Recipients Share Engagement Goals

Leander ISD, Shannon Lombardo, Community Services Director:
"Currently, campuses have a variety of resources they are using to attempt to communicate with their families: campus newsletters, teacher emails and district emails as well as all of the social media outlets. We are interested in seeing the impact if we streamlined all engagement to LivingTree."

NYC Public Schools District 13/17, Pamela Payne, Family Leadership Coordinator:
"I have been working for almost 12 years as a parent advocate. Parents need leadership, guidance and ongoing support to deal with the many issues they face. Our faith-based program will partner with the local school community and assist them in planning specifically toward building parent knowledge in academics for their children with a university as our partner. We will also partner with local officials to address parent school concerns as needed."

Willingboro High School - Making Visions Possible, Gary Nelson, Director:
"We plan to utilize LivingTree to show families a positive narrative of student success at Willingboro High School. Our goals are to create a school community that is heavily involved in the external community and to consolidate all of our resources into an easily accessible, private platform."

AKTIV Learning Academy, Maribel Alvarez, School Director:
"We plan to utilize LivingTree for family engagement by integrating it into the school's day to day duties that will keep our parents consistently informed such as: school events, school calendar, documents and links to learning tools for students. We believe it will make communication more accessible and look forward to communication improving for both the parents and the school."

Cobalt Institute of Math and Science, Veronica Hill, Family Engagement Liaison:
"Family engagement is a huge priority at our school; LivingTree will be a great benefit to us. We are a Title 1 school and have found that the more engaged and informed parents are, the more likely students will do well in their studies."

La Joya ISD, Velma Ochoa, Family and Community Engagement Coordinator:
"I am looking forward to using technology best practices when working with our families and community. Our entire academic community will benefit greatly from LivingTree. Our students and families are eager for progress."

About the Drako Community and Family Engagement Grant
The Drako Community and Family Engagement Grant for Schools awards schools and districts with a private, secure LivingTree Tiered Social Network -- including all engagement features, SIS integration, setup, upkeep, training, and support -- at no cost for one year. School grant recipients are those with a stated plan and need for using technology to engage families and communities. Eligible schools include accredited private and public schools in the United States: pre-schools, elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools. To learn more and apply for the grant, please visit: Drako Family Engagement Grant.

Founded in 2012, LivingTree's mission is to connect the people who raise, develop, and educate our children. LivingTree aims to include every member of the community regardless of preferred language or socio-economic status. LivingTree's Tiered Social Network empowers leaders, organizations, educators and parents to connect, share, and coordinate up, down and across all levels of their private network to help improve academic achievement. LivingTree has been recognized for this work by the Stevie Awards for Women in Business as the 2016 Gold Community Involvement Program of the Year and 2016 Silver Smartphone App of the Year. For more information, visit http://www.livingtree.com, call 844.LIV.TREE, or email at: [email protected]

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