BIG YELLOW SCHOOL BUS GRANT

Big Yellow School Bus Grant

The Big Yellow School Bus Grant provides up to $300 to help schools meet the transportation costs of educational field trips to arts institutions and activities in Missouri that are funded by the Missouri Arts Council. The grant meets a growing need to help schools fund student field trips to art museums and exhibits, music, dance, and theater performances, which are often eliminated due to the pressures of dwindling budgets.

Creative learning at cultural institutions is critical to a child's academic development. These visits help foster creativity and innovation, among the most important skills for students to develop today. Big Yellow School Bus is designed to foster partnerships between schools and art institutions so students across the state can explore their creativity and experience all that Missouri’s cultural life has to offer.

To be eligible to apply for the Big Yellow School Bus grant the applying school must be a public, private or charter school tht provides daily education to K-12th grade students. The school must be Missouri-based, nonprofit, and tax-exempt. The funds must be used during the 2012-2013 school year.

What does the grant fund?

The Yellow School Bus Grant will pay transportation costs for students taking field trips to approved arts activities including festivals, exhibitions, and performances. The grant does not pay for other related costs including admission fees. Eligible destinations are programs that are funded by the Missouri Arts Council. A list of MAC grant recipients by community can be found here: http://bit.ly/oCz124. If you believe your destination is funded by MAC and is not on the list please call Julie Hale, Arts Education Program Specialist (contact information is on next page). Travel for student competitions and student performances are not eligible. The grant will fund clinics only if the students will attend a performance. No match is required for this grant. The applicant may request up to $300 to cover travel expenses that would transport students to and from an eligible field trip destination. Any eligible school may receive one Yellow School Bus Grant between July 1, 2012 and June 30, 2013.

How to apply?

Applications must be submitted by the first Monday of any month at least six weeks in advance of the field trip. For example, if the field trip occurs November 19, the deadline is the first Monday of October. If the first Monday falls on a holiday, the deadline will be Tuesday. To encourage advance planning, MAC accepts early applications. Applicants will receive notification of funding within six weeks of the deadline.

This grant is not competitive and will be awarded as funds are available. However, at each deadline, applications from schools in house districts that are unfunded or underfunded by MAC will be considered first. To determine if your school is located in an unfunded or underfunded house district, enter your 9-digit zip code at the Missouri Legislator Look-up site: http://www.senate.mo.gov/llookup/leg_lookup.aspx. The list of MAC unfunded and underfunded districts follows:

House District No. 1, 5, 11,12,13,15,16, 20, 29, 38, 41, 45, 48, 49, 50, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 68, 74, 76, 78, 81, 88, 89, 90, 92, 97, 100, 101, 102, 105, 106, 110, 115, 120, 126, 130, 134, 135, 136, 139, 143, 144, 145, 150, 156, 157, 161, 162.

Contact

For more information contact the program specialist:

Julie Hale, Arts Education Program Specialist
julie.hale@ded.mo.gov
314-340-6853
866-407-4752 (toll-free)
800-735-2966 (TDD)

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