November 2009
Are you a paraprofessional interested in obtaining your teaching degree?
The Personnel Development Partnership’s Para to Teacher program has funds available for spring 2010 admission. If you have an Associate degree and currently work as a paraprofessional you may be eligible, for more information contact Peg Sullivan, Coordinator at msulliva@fgcu.edu
Low cost, high payoff
A free program outside of Santa Barbara, Calif. that encourages Spanish-speaking families to develop reading routines and improve reading skills has just wrapped up its second year, reports The San Luis Obispo Tribune. The program, which cost the San Luis Coastal Unified School District just $3,500 to implement, helps Latino parents develop an educational environment at home and promote skills that will help their children get to college. “I read to my son now about four times per week for about 30 minutes each time,” said Lorenzo Torres, a 40-year-old Los Osos construction worker and father of five-year-old Eric. “I really want to prepare him as well as I can for college.” Torres, who has taken both sessions of the program, said he wanted to enroll in the class partly to improve his own English, which his teachers now say is quite proficient. The students read one book a week and discuss themes of responsibility, overcoming hardships, and family values. Each book features a story printed in English on one page and in Spanish on the other, to encourage a bilingual experience between parents and children. Torres is also the father of 16-year-old twin boys, and says he wishes he could have provided better educational support to them when they were young.
Read more: http://www.sanluisobispo.com/183/story/921642.html
The What Works Clearinghouse
Review of the research on the effectiveness of “Headsprout Early Reading” found this literacy curriculum to have potentially positive effects on oral language and print knowledge. “Headsprout Early Reading” is an Internet-based supplemental early literacy curriculum consisting of forty 20-minute animated episodes designed to teach phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
To view the full report please visit: http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/reports/early_ed/headsprout/
Student Achievement Grants
NEA Foundation for the Improvement of Education
SYNOPSIS – The sponsor provides grants to improve the academic achievement of students in U.S. public schools and public higher education institutions in any subject area(s). The grant amount is $5,000.
OBJECTIVES – The sponsor provides grants to improve the academic achievement of students in U.S. public schools and public higher education institutions in any subject area(s). The proposed work should engage students in critical thinking and problem solving that deepen their knowledge of standards-based subject matter. The work should also improve students? habits of inquiry, self-directed learning, and critical reflection. Proposals for work resulting in low-income and minority student success with honors, advanced placement, or other challenging curricula are particularly encouraged.
Deadline(s):
- 02/01/2010
- 06/01/2010
- 10/15/2010
Web Site: http://www.neafoundation.org/grants.htm
Program URL: http://www.neafoundation.org/pages/educators/grant-programs/student-achievement-grants/
MENC Teaching Improvisation Grants
NEA Foundation for the Improvement of Education
SYNOPSIS – The sponsor offers support to public educators to teach improvisation to middle- and high-school music students.
OBJECTIVES – These grants are dedicated to the development and implementation of ideas, techniques, and approaches for teaching music improvisation to American public middle and high school students.
Educators can apply for the Teaching Improvisation Grants through the Foundation’s existing grants programs; either the Student Achievement or Learning & Leadership Grants.
Student Achievement Grants provide funds for proposals designed to improve the academic achievement of students by engaging them in critical thinking and problem solving that deepen knowledge of subject matter and that are centered on music improvisation through the development and implementation of new ideas, techniques, and approaches.
Learning & Leadership Grants provide funds to individuals and teams of teachers, education support professionals, and higher education faculty and staff to engage in high-quality professional development and to lead their colleagues in professional growth in the techniques and skills of teaching improvisation. Recipients will be asked to report fully on the ways that they developed new techniques and skills. These reports will be summarized and shared nationwide with music education professionals.
Deadline(s):
- 02/01/2010
- 06/01/2010
- 10/15/2010
Web Site: http://www.neafoundation.org/grants.htm
Program URL: http://www.neafoundation.org/pages/educators/grant-programs/nea-foundation-menc-teaching-improvisation-grants/
Learning & Leadership Grants
NEA Foundation for the Improvement of Education
SYNOPSIS – The sponsor provides support to public school teachers, public education support professionals, and/or faculty and staff in public institutions of higher education for one of the following two
purposes: Grants to individuals fund participation in high-quality professional development experiences; or Grants to groups fund collegial study.
OBJECTIVES – Grants support public school teachers, public education support professionals, and/or faculty and staff in public institutions of higher education for one of the following two purposes: Grants to individuals fund participation in high-quality professional development experiences, such as summer institutes or action research; or Grants to groups fund collegial study, including study groups, action research, lesson study, or mentoring experiences for faculty or staff new to an assignment.
All professional development must improve practice, curriculum, and student achievement. Decisions regarding the content of the professional growth activities must be based upon an assessment of student work undertaken with colleagues, and must be integrated into the institutional planning process. Recipients are expected to exercise professional leadership by sharing their new learning with their colleagues.
The grant amount is $2,000 for individuals and $5,000 for groups engaged in collegial study. Grant funds may be used for fees, travel expenses, books, or other materials that enable applicants to learn subject matter, instructional approaches, and skills. Grants will fund activities for twelve months from the date of the award.
Deadline(s):
- 02/01/2010
- 06/01/2010
- 10/15/2010
Web Site: http://www.neafoundation.org/grants.htm
Program URL: http://www.neafoundation.org/pages/educators/grant-programs/learning-and-leadership/
Zaner-Bloser: National Handwriting Contest
The 2010 Zaner-Bloser National Handwriting Contest encourages legible handwriting by testing the printing (or “manuscript”) acumen of first and second graders and the cursive abilities of students in grades 2 through 8. Entries are judged on the Keys to Legibility: Shape, Slant, Spacing, and Size.
Maximum award: recognition and a special prize package.
Eligibility: students grades 1-8 whose school uses Zaner-Bloser Handwriting curricula.
Deadline: March 15, 2010.
http://www.zaner-bloser.com/educator/products/handwriting/national-contest.aspx?id=336
Muzak Heart & Soul Foundation: Music Matters Grants
The Muzak Heart & Soul Foundation Music Matters Grants for 2010 will focus on educational reform in school music programs and independent music programs across the United States.
Maximum award: $12,000.
Eligibility: U.S. schools that already employ a music educator or educators and have an existing music program in place. Grant requests must articulate specific music program needs for existing and/or planned programs.
Deadline: February 5, 2010.
http://heart.muzak.com/what/grants.aspx
Western Union Foundation: Family Scholarship Program
The Western Union Foundation’s Family Scholarship Program is an educational initiative for migrants, immigrants, and their families in the United States that aims to help two members of the same family move up the economic ladder through education. Scholarships may be used for tuition for college/university education, language acquisition classes, technical/skill training, and/or financial literacy.
Maximum award: $5,000.
Eligibility: two members of the same family, aged 18 years or older, for whom the country of origin for at least one applicant is outside the U.S.
Deadline: February 5, 2010.
http://corporate.westernunion.com/scholarship.html
ING: Unsung Heroes Awards
The ING Unsung Heroes Awards program recognizes innovative and progressive thinking in education through monetary awards.
Maximum award: $25,000.
Eligibility: full-time educators, teachers, principals, paraprofessionals, or classified staff members with effective projects that improve student learning at an accredited K-12 public or private school.
Deadline: April 30, 2010.
http://www.ing-usa.com/us/stellent2/groups/dc/documents/companylobinformation/001143.pdf
