Grants, Awards & Freebies
Grants, awards & freebies - Feb. 14, 2008
Feb 14, 2008 10:32 AM
ESOL Teacher of the Year: The New York Times recognizes the challenges faced by immigrants to the United States, and supports efforts to help immigrants build new lives in this country. Essential to the success of any immigrant is the ability to speak and write English. For that reason, The Times created the annual ESOL Teacher of the Year Award, for one outstanding teacher of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) in New York City. The purpose of this award is to recognize one teacher in New York City whose commitment to his or her students is demonstrated by consistently going “above and beyond” the call of duty to help students learn English and develop the skills needed to create successful new lives in the United States. Teachers who teach outside of New York City are not eligible. Nominations will be accepted from ESOL students and teaching colleagues and administrators. One winner will be announced in The Times in April and honored at a special award ceremony. The winner will receive $2,500. DEADLINE: Feb. 22. CONTACT: www.nytimes-community.com; phone: 1-212-566-4500.
Sprint Foundation: Through the Sprint Ahead for Education grant program, the Sprint Foundation will award grants to school districts and individual schools to fund the purchase of resource materials, supplies, equipment and software that facilitates and encourages character education among K-12 students. With a national reach, the program is open to all U.S. public schools (K-12) and U.S. public school districts. The Sprint Ahead for Education Grant program will accept applications for character education programs that promote youth leadership, youth volunteerism, school pride and a positive school culture. Examples of programs that the Sprint Foundation will fund include: Costs associated with hosting a youth leadership conference; character education teacher training and character education support resources; direct project-related costs for community service/service learning programs; school improvement projects that serve to enhance and build school pride. District level grants are available for programs ranging from $10,000–$25,000. School level grants are available for programs ranging from $500–$5,000. DEADLINE: Applications will be accepted electronically only from March 3 to April 15. CONTACT: www.sprint.com/citizenship/education/sprintahead/.
Free videos for schools: eSchool News, a provider of information relevant to funding and curriculum issues for school districts, is offering free video news content for schools nationwide. Programs include eSN-TV’s TechWatch newscast and Visions for Innovation, a show providing a platform for education technology innovators to describe their vision for education and discuss emerging trends. Schools and districts are among those eligible to apply for free programming. DEADLINE: None. CONTACT: Call 1-301-913-0115 ext. 110; or send an e-mail to: Ndavid@eSchoolnews.com.
Ecology/Environmental Science Teaching Award: Sponsored by Vernier Software & Technology, the Ecology/Environmental Teaching Award will be given to a secondary school teacher who has successfully developed and demonstrated an innovative approach in the teaching of ecology/environmental science and has carried his or her commitment to the environment into the community. Vernier's sponsorship of this award includes $1,000 toward travel to the Professional Development Conference, and $500 of Vernier equipment. The recipient also receives a plaque to be presented at the NABT Professional Development Conference, and a one-year complimentary NABT membership. DEADLINE: March 15. CONTACT: Web site: www.nabt.org.
History awards: Through the American Historical Association, teachers making contributions by presenting initiatives to teach history are honored through the Beveridge Family Teaching Prize. A cash prize of $1,500 will be awarded to K–12 teachers, who must be nominated. The award recognizes excellence and innovation in elementary, middle school, and secondary history teaching, including career contributions and specific initiatives. Only the letter of nomination should be mailed. DEADLINE: March 17. CONTACT: Beveridge Family Teaching Prize, American Historical Association, 400 A St., SE, Washington, DC 20003; Web site: www.historians.org/teaching/beveridge.htm.
Christopher Columbus awards: Teachers, this is something you can do with your students. These awards, sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the Christopher Columbus Foundation, encourage teams of middle school students to use science to improve their communities. Teams of three or four students in grades 6–8 and one adult coach can apply. The teams will identify a problem in the community, research it and devise an innovative solution. Four finalist teams and their coaches will receive an all-expense-paid trip to Walt Disney World to attend National Championship Week and compete for valuable U.S. Savings Bonds plus a $200 development grant to further refine their idea. DEADLINE: March 17. CONTACT: www.christophercolumbusawards.com.
Summer fellowship: The Murdock-Thompson Center for Teachers is a nonprofit organization based in Rhode Island that supports teachers in a variety of ways and supports school reform efforts. The center is seeking applications for its Summer Fellowship for Innovative Teachers program. Fellowships allow teachers to consciously examine teaching methods and educational research, risk new methods, keep records of their results, and publish and share findings. Stipends of $1,500 are offered and K–12 teachers or school administrators can apply. DEADLINE: March 31. CONTACT: The Murdock-Thompson Center, 178 Gano St., Providence, RI 02906; phone: 1-401-621-9033; Web site: http://users.ids.net/~murdokca/fellowship.html.
History and culture workshop for educators: The Decatur House Museum, a National Trust for Historic Site in Washington, D.C., will host two intensive, week-long workshops for K–12 teachers entitled Race and Place: African Americans in Washington, DC, from 1800–1954. The workshops are funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities’ Landmarks of American History and Culture: Workshops for School Teachers program. The program will bring educators from across the country to the capital to study African-American experiences in the city from its founding through legal desegregation. Approximately 50 applicants will be selected for each six-day workshop — Session I: July 13–18 and Session II: Aug. 3–8. Support from the NEH will provide a $500 stipend to assist with lodging and living expenses and a partial travel reimbursement. DEADLINE: March 17. CONTACT: Applications are online at www.decaturhouse.org/workshop/index.htm; e-mail: raceandplace@nthp.org ; phone: 1-202-842-0920 ext. 232.
Summer cultural studies in U.S., overseas offered: The National Endowment for the Humanities is once again offering annual seminars and institutes for K-12 teachers and school librarians that take educators to all parts of the United States as well as to countries such as Austria, France, Germany, England and Spain. Seminars and institutes cover a diverse range of subjects and instructors are scholars and experts in their fields. The NEH provides stipends, based on the length of the course, to pay for transportation, accommodations and other expenses. The stipends range from $1,800 (two weeks) to $4,200 (six weeks). You may request information on as many projects as you wish but you may apply to only one seminar or institute. There are 15 seminars and 12 institutes to choose from. The complete list is online. DEADLINE: March 3. CONTACT: For applications, contact individual workshop director online: www.neh.gov/projects/si-school.html. For general questions, call the NEH education division at 1-202-606-8463; e-mail: sem-inst@neh.gov .
