It’s Time To Plan for The NEA Foundation’s June Grant Review

Applications are due by June 1, 2006, for both innovation and learning & leadership grants. Recipients will be notified by November 15, 2006. Grants fund activities for 12 months from the award date.

Innovation Grants and Learning & Leadership Grants are available for all subjects, including the arts, literacy, mathematics, science, and technology. Grant amounts are $5,000 for Innovation Grants and either $2,000 (individual) or $5,000 (group) for Learning & Leadership Grants.

Through the years, The NEA Foundation has funded over 1,500 grants nationwide to NEA members. Read about recent projects at the Foundation’s Web site, and submit your own idea! Practicing K–12 public school teachers, education support professionals, and higher education faculty and staff are all encouraged to apply. Applying for a grant is easy—why wait?

Visit www.neafoundation.org today for more information, including guidelines and an application. Or call 202-822-7840.

Awards for Unsung Heroes

For 10 years, ING Unsung Heroes awards have been given to K–12 educators pioneering new teaching methods and techniques that improve learning and inspire success in the classroom.

Educators submit applications that describe projects they have initiated or want to pursue. Projects are judged on innovation, creativity, and the ability to positively influence students.

Each year, 100 finalists receive a $2,000 award, payable to both the winning teacher and his or her school. Winners are selected by Scholarship America, a national non-profit educational support and student aid service organization. Of the 100 finalists, three are selected for additional awards of $5,000, $10,000, and $25,000.

For more, go to www.ING-usa.com/us/aboutING/communityconnections/ineducation/unsungheroes/
index.htm or contact Scholarship America via e-mail at ing@scholarshipamerica.org or by phone at 1-800-537-4180. The deadline for 2006 applications is May 1, 2006.

Teacher Tour of the Galapagos

This fall, the Toyota International Teacher Program will send 20 full-time secondary school teachers (grades 7–12) on a fully funded, 10-day study program to the Galapagos Islands, a World Heritage site. While there, educators will observe and explore environmental projects, speak with experts and community advocates, and participate in activities aimed at encouraging an internationally and environmentally oriented interdisciplinary curriculum.

The tour will include strenuous travel and rigorous physical activities while visiting locations in the Galapagos, including the islands of Santa Cruz, Isabella, and San Cristobal.

Teachers will be selected from nine states: Arizona, California, Florida,Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, and Texas. Educators in Washington, D.C., are also eligible to apply. The deadline for applications is April 21, 2006.

For more information, go to www.iie.org/programs/toyota .

Building Bridges

The MetLife Foundation Bridge Builders Grant Program and the National Association of Secondary School Principals invite public middle and high schools serving large numbers of low-income students and/or underrepresented minorities (40 percent or more of the student body) to apply for a grant to implement a special initiative aimed at building better relationships among adults and students. Twenty-five schools will each receive an award of $5,000.

For details, visit www.principals.org/s_nassp/index.asp and select “Grants & Scholarships” from the menu on the left.

The grant application deadline is April 17, 2006.

‘Nature of Learning’ Start-Up Grants

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation is offering start-up grants to schools and organizations interested in initiating the “Nature of Learning” in their communities. The program is a community-based environmental education initiative that seeks to use national wildlife refuges as outdoor classrooms to:

• promote a greater understanding of local conservation issues
• encourage an interdisciplinary approach to learning
• use field experiences and student-led stewardship projects to connect classroom lessons to real-world issues and
• create a partnership among local schools, community groups, natural resource professionals, and local businesses.

Grants of up to $5,000 will be awarded on a competitive basis to support start-up expenses associated with new programs. Grants of up to $3,000 will be awarded to provide continued support for existing programs. The deadline for applications is April 17, 2006. For more, see www.nfwf.org/programs/tnol.cfm .

Win a Document Camera for Your Classroom

Looking to get rid of transparencies and enhance your classroom presentations?

AVerMedia Technologies Inc. is conducting an essay contest, open to all U.S. schools and education facilities, that will award four teachers brand new document cameras. Document cameras allow you to display documents and small 3-D objects on a screen, television, projector, or monitor. The contest requires an original 100- to 300-word essay by an administrator, teacher, or student that creatively describes their desire for a camera, how it would be used in the classroom, and its anticipated benefits.

For complete contest guidelines and prize information, visit the AVerMedia Web site at www.avermedia-usa.com/contest.shtml .

Essays must be submitted to avtessaycontest@aver.com via e-mail by April 28, 2006.