| WINTER 2010 | NEA Foundation Awards $3.75M to Close Achievement Gaps in
Three Communities | | The NEA Foundation's signature Closing the Achievement Gaps Initiative was recently expanded to three additional communities: Columbus, Ohio; Springfield, Mass.; and Durham, N.C. (pictured). These communities join our network of current sites that build partnerships among the local education association, the school district, and community leaders to improve teaching and learning by placing educators at the center of reform efforts. Each partnership will receive a five-year,$1.25 million grant, matched with local resources, to transform struggling schools in their communities. |
North Carolina Governor, Bev Perdue, (second from right) congratulates Durham education leaders on NEA Foundation grant. | Local News Coverage: Durham, Columbus, Springfield. |
Educator Builds Knowledge, Students Build Model City Using a
NEA Foundation Grant |  | Sheila Irvin of Egremont Elementary School in Pittsfield, Mass. used a NEA Foundation grant to build a bridge of knowledge between the shapes and geometrical concepts that her students were learning in the classroom and the buildings, machines, and streets that fill their community. Using the grant funds, Irvin partnered with a local architect and museum to improve her students’ knowledge and skills. | As a culmination of the project, the students created a model city that was displayed with great enthusiasm at the local museum.
Institute for Local Innovation in Teaching and Learning Launches with Support from Gates and GE Foundations
With more than $1.3 million in support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the GE Foundation, the NEA Foundation is creating the Institute for Local Innovation in Teaching and Learning to engage local union and district leaders in a multi-year, capacity-building process that will lead to significant, measurable changes in student achievement. The institute will help labor-management teams from across the country utilize new approaches to human capital, including changes to collective bargaining models and sharing knowledge of emerging promising practices of effective teaching and learning. | | 2010 NEA Foundation Gala Update: Due to the historic snowfall in the nation's capital, we have postponed the NEA Foundation's Salute to Excellence in Education Gala until April 30. We hope it's safe to promise that, by then, a steady shower of cherry blossoms will replace the recent deluge of snowflakes. Same venue, same show, and the same outstanding educators, who are the real reason why we have an annual gala. Please visit our Web site for updates. | |
