Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/15938
NEA Foundation awards 10 grants to California educators This ye ar, Ca lifor nia teachers have received 10 grants from the NEA Foun- dation, which awards about 200 grants annually to educa- tors nationwide in support of new ideas and practices to s t rengthen teaching and learning. Donna Mar key and Ja - mie Ha gen-H ol t of Vis t a Magne t Middle S cho ol in Vista received a $5,000 Stu- dent Achievement Grant (in partnership with Nickelode- on) for an environmental project. Through this grant students will analyze the con- struction of one of the largest desalination plants in the world. Alex P icaz o and Rebec - ca S o c o of Rancho d el Rey M id d le S cho o l in Chula Vista received a $5,000 Student Achievement Grant (in partnership with Nickel- odeon) for a service learning project to promote literacy and ecological awareness. Struggling readers wi ll be paired with motivated readers to read a novel about planting organic gardens. After read- ing the novel, students will plant their own organic school garden and participate in an art project promoting envi- ronmental literacy. Gian Mich ael S arabi a and Adr ienne J erman of Bo r onda M ead ows E le - ment ar y Scho ol in Salinas received a $5,000 Student Achievement Grant (in part- nership with Nickelodeon) to teach students about sustain- able farming methods by building an organic garden. In addition to taking field trips to places that teach sus- tainable methods of organic farming, the students wi l l create a webpage containing videos and photos that will explain the dangers of pesti- cide use and the benefits of sustainable farming. Lin da P r eminger and Malik D ohr n of Wa shing - t on M ano r M id d le Scho o l in San Lorenzo received a $5,000 Student Achievement Grant (in part- nership with Nickelodeon) to lead a series of field trips designed to help students ex- perience the relationship be- tween human habitations in the local watershed and changes in the San Francisco Bay. Students will learn the importance of the interaction between water, topography, and human activity. Jess ika Negr ete A gus - tin and Mik ak o Fis her of Elk G r o ve U nified Scho ol D is tr ict in Sacra- mento received a $5,000 Learning and Leadership Grant to increase the profi- ciency of English language learners within the school district. Through this grant, a team of educators will iden- t ify schools in Nor thern California that have been successful in assisting ELL students to read at grade lev- el. The team will target the most effective teaching prac- tices and implement them districtwide. Anna Mo ra ga of Wil l Ro gers E lement ar y Scho ol in Ventura received a $2,000 Learning and Lead- ership Grant to attend the f ive-day Summer Writing Institute at Columbia Uni- versity’s Teachers College Reading and Writing Project. Upon completion of the in- stitute, Moraga will share the teaching tools that she has learned with her colleagues and provide support for third- through fifth-grade teachers at her school, where writers’ workshops will be implemented. DeAnn Kar l and Bev - er l y R uby of Wes t s id e Element ar y Scho ol in Rio Linda received a $5,000 Learning and Leadership Grant to establish a profes- sional learning community to implement strategies to improve the achievement of English language learners and Hi spanic students, focusing on the Guided Lan- guage Acquisition Develop- ment (GLAD) model of professional development in the area of language acquisi- tion and literacy. Francisc o J imenez of Asc ot Aven ue Element ar y Scho ol in Los Angeles re- ceived a $2,000 Learning and Leadership Grant to attend a weeklong reading confer- ence at Columbia University to learn strategies that en- hance student reading skills and the mechanics involved in establishing meaningful independent and par tner reading. Ka ther ine W illi ams and Ste ve H o ffman of Mid dle C o llege H igh Scho o l in San Pablo re- ceived a $5,000 Student Achievement Grant (in part- nership with Staples Founda- tion for Learning) to create a schoolwide water conserva- t ion and pr es er vat ion program. As a member of a national consortium of water conser ving high school s across the United States, the school will use funds to share the work that students have done in the community to raise awareness of water conservation wi th other schools. Ja ckie Fer r eira and Tara H iga shino of Unio n House Element ar y Scho ol in Sacramento received a $5,000 Learning and Leader- ship Grant to create a math and science website working with a team of K-6 educators. The interac- t ive website wi ll inc lude online to ol s, document sharing, Web-based activities, and video streaming. The goal is to help stu- dents excel in California math and science content standards. Since 1999, the NEA Foundation has funded mo r e t h a n 2, 000 in di v i du a l g r a n t s . Awardees are selected in three rounds throughout the year. The deadline to apply for the next round of grants is Oct. 15. Educators can now apply for grants on the NEA Foundation website at www. neafoundation.org. SEPTEMBER 2010 | www.cta.org 29