Home About Contact E-Line HomeArchivesSearch
The Help Desk  
Volume 2, No. 21                        30 May, 2003

[To view this newsletter on line:
http://www.emck.net/eline/03_05_30.htm.]


Do you access your school email over the summer? We can forward The Help Desk to your home email account, or hold off until fall. Simply reply to this email, tell us when to stop/switch, and when to start/switch back!

Summertime!Summer's comin' on!...for most of you! As this edition of The Help Desk arrives, your lesson plans for the year are certainly prepared, and you and your students are looking forward to a well-earned break! This issue constitutes the first of our summer offerings. We suggest two activities...

  • On-line Professional Development

For those of you not attending this summer's Academies, the summer is a perfect time to learn something new, work on some problem areas, develop some ideas...that is, gain some professional development! This issue brings some PD opportunities in which you can partake, without ever leaving that wonderful summer rocking chair!

  • Grants and Awards

Funding continues to be a problem for teachers who want to try new things. Below you will find several sources of grants aimed at individual teacher applicants (rather than whole districts or schools), including the Jordan Fundamentals Grant which was featured in the May 31, 2002 edition of The Help Desk. Most are pulled from national professional associations - if you do not see your discipline, be sure to check with yours. They're win-able! Resolve now to take a week this summer, and apply! 

Online Professional Development
KVHS Kentucky Virtual High School Professional Development

http://www.kvhs.org/

No, KVHS isn't just for high school students! This service of the Kentucky Department of Education site offers online professional development courses for teachers this summer, and all through the year. Although the site doesn't easily display its slate of summer offerings, they can be seen here, and registration  is open until Jun 16th. There are professional development courses in the following areas:

  • The One Computer Classroom and Technology Integration
  • Introduction to Online Teaching and Learning
  • Using the Online Stock Market Game in Your Classroom
  • Meeting Economics and Practical Living Standards using Internet Resources K-5
  • Engaging Students in Reading With the World Wide Web
  • The Science Classroom and Technology Integration
  • The Elementary Math Classroom and Technology Integration
  • Using Microsoft PowerPoint Across the Curriculum
  • Principal Selection Training for SBDM Council Members
  • Introduction to Comprehensive Improvement Planning
  • Teaching All Students-For Emergency/Probationary Special Education Teachers, Modules 1-6 (Note: E/P Modules will last seven weeks with classes closing on August 1)
  • Getting Started with Limited English Proficient Students
  • Spotlight On Algebra (Note: will last seven weeks with class closing on August 1)

They are not free, but are inexpensive, and often schools' PD funds are available. Remember that PD credit can only be given by your school - check with your principal or professional development committee chair to be sure they quality for you.
Professional Resources - Grants and Awards Jordan FundamentalsThe Jordan Fundamentals Grant Program

http://www.nike.com/nikebiz/nikebiz.jhtml?page=26&item=jordan

It's that time again! Sponsored by Nike, the Jordan Fundamentals Grant Program awards $2500 grants to teachers who " . . . demonstrate instructional creativity and exemplify high learning expectations for economically disadvantaged students." Grants are awarded for teaching materials, transportation costs, etc., associated with a thematic unit or lesson plan. Deadline is June 15, 2003, but the application is not long and tedious.  Ten teachers from Kentucky won in 2002!

NTSAThe Ciba Exemplary Middle Level and High School Science Teaching Awards

http://www.nsta.org/189

Sponsored by Ciba Specialty Chemicals and the National Science Teachers Association, this award gives  $1000 plus free membership to NTSA and another $500 for attendance of their national convention. They are awarded to middle and high school teachers " . . . who have demonstrated exemplary science teaching performance in one or more of the following areas: (1) creativity in the use of science teaching materials; (2) design and use of innovative teaching plans and ideas; (3) development and implementation of department, school, or school-community programs for the improvement of science instruction or the stimulation of interest in science and the learning of science; 4) reflect the National Science Education Standards." Deadline is October.

NCTMNCTM Mathematics Education Trust

http://www.nctm.org/about/met/

NCTM sponsors several teacher grant programs, including the $2,000 John and Stacey Wahl Grants, awarded "...to develop a project that will enable students to better appreciate and understand some aspect of geometry that is consistent with the NCTM Principles and Standards." NCTM provides extensive support and help on their website for all grant applicants, and most deadlines are in December. Resolve now to apply!

National GeographicNational Geographic Society Education Foundation Teacher Grants

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/education/teacher_community/get_grant.html

National Geographic sponsors two grants "...that seek to improve student achievement through geographic literacy." The deadline for these is June 12, so there's no time to lose! The Society gives away more than $100,000 in grants up to $5,000 each, so you have a chance! Instructions and hints are on the site.
Think Big!The NEA Foundation

http://www.nfie.org/grants.htm

NEA has two grant categories available through their foundation. The Fine Arts Grant Program is posted in the fall (the deadline for this year has passed), but they also give $1,000-3,000 grants for leadership and innovation, and those are available continuously (they are always accepting applications). "The...grants support public school teachers, education support professionals, and/or faculty and staff in public institutions of higher education for ONE of the following two purposes:

  • Learning & Leadership Grants will fund recipients to participate in a high-quality professional development experience or organize a collegial study group that leads to improvements in practice, curriculum, and student achievement in the school or university...
  • Innovation Grants will support collaborative efforts by two or more colleagues to develop and implement creative and unique ideas that result in high student achievement. The proposed work should engage students in critical thinking and problem solving that deepen their knowledge of standards-based subject matter..."

Between the two, over 300 grants are awarded each year!

Newsletter archive (including further information about this resource): http://www.emck.net/eline/ Questions, comments, feedback, or requests for removal from the mailing list: eline@emck.net