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Cave Creek Educator Named Arizona School Counselor of the Year Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas in May honored Cadi Angeli, 2016 Arizona School Counselor of the Year, and Katherine Pastor, 2016 National School Counselor of the Year. Both were joined by colleagues and family members for a welcome reception at the Arizona Department of Education before being formally recognized at the Arizona State Board of Education meeting. "It is an honor to recognize these exemplary school counselors for their dedicated service and their outstanding contributions to the counseling profession," said Superintendent Douglas. "Their passion and commitment to helping students achieve academic, personal and career success truly makes a difference." Angeli is a member of the Cave Creek Education Association and has been a dedicated school counselor at Sonoran Trails Middle School in Cave Creek for 15 years and regularly makes presentations to the surrounding community on teen development. The School Counselor of the Year award honors the professionals who devote their careers to serving as advocates for students based on their creative school counseling innovations, effective school counseling programs, leadership skills and contributions to student advancement. 26 ADVOCATE | SUMMER 2016 Littleton Education Association Member Receives $2,000 Grant The NEA Foundation Funds Educator Language Study On April 20, 2016, David Cedor, a fifth-grade educator at Collier Elementary School in Avondale, Arizona, has received a $2,000 Learning & Leadership Grant from the NEA Foundation to make his social studies curriculum more inclusive by learning about East Africa and the Middle East with travel to Oman and Zanzi- bar. Nationwide, the NEA Foundation announced that it is award- ing grants to 40 educators across 20 states for a total of $140,000. "With these grants, we are supporting educator-driven solu- tions that contribute to improved student performance in public schools," said Harriet Sanford, president and CEO of the NEA Foundation. "Our support enables educators to engage in a wide variety of innovative approaches to the benefit of students across the country." The NEA Foundation awards two levels of grant funding, $2,000 or $5,000, for two categories of grants to public educa- tion professionals: Student Achievement Grants for initiatives to improve academic achievement, and Learning and Leadership Grants for high-quality educational professional development activities. A team of 20 educators, many former grantees, carefully reviewed all applications and evaluated each one against a set of criteria. Funded educator grants were selected for the quality of the grant proposal ideas and their potential for enhancing student achievement. Over the past decade, the NEA Foundation has invested more than $7.1 million in teaching grants to support the work of almost 4,500 educators from every state in the country to help students succeed. Each year, the Foundation awards approximately 150 Student Achievement and Learning and Leadership Grants. To learn about these educators' projects, visit the NEA Foundation's Grantee Archive. Search for grantees and projects by most recent, grade level, subject, state, or keyword. The NEA Foundation awards its grants to educators three times a year. The next education grant deadline is October 15, 2016. Ap- plication forms and a video with step-by-step instructions on how to apply can be found in the Grants to Educators section of the NEA Foundation website. n