Discovery Charter School
2026–2029 Strategic Plan
Grant Strategy
Place-Based Learning
Discovery's place-based model is one of its clearest points of distinction and one of the strongest ways to frame the school for outside funders. This category translates the school's environmental roots, experiential learning model, and connection to Northwest Indiana into fundable programs, partnerships, and learning infrastructure.
Grants
11
Initiatives
3
Pipeline Value
$224K
Funds Needed
$190K
Why This Category
We should be unusually aggressive here. There are funders who care about education, funders who care about the environment, funders who care about Northwest Indiana, and funders who care about community life. Discovery sits in the overlap.
What Falls Under It
Learning Experiences. Transportation, admissions, field equipment, project materials, and other costs that make off-campus learning possible.Outdoor Learning. Outdoor classrooms, gardens, trails, habitat areas, restoration work, monitoring stations, and student stewardship projects.Community Partnerships. Programming with Indiana Dunes National Park, Dunes Learning Center, land trusts, Lake Michigan and watershed organizations, parks, municipalities, local industry, and civic organizations.Teaching & Curriculum. Professional development and curriculum work that strengthen experiential, interdisciplinary, environmental, and place-based instruction.Student Research & Stewardship. Citizen science, environmental monitoring, community history, public-facing research, and stewardship projects.