EDUCATOR AND SCHOOL AWARDS, CONTESTS, FELLOWSHIPS, AND OTHER DEADLINES
March 19—Arts education: Applications are due for the Picturing America grant program, sponsored by the American Library Association and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Five hundred K-12 public and private schools will each receive a collection of 20 posters depicting works of American art as well as reading lists and a resource booklet for teachers. Applicants must describe how the images and curriculum materials will be used by educators to deepen student understanding of the nation’s history and culture. Contact: The ALA Public Programs Office, (800) 545-2433, ext. 5045, e-mail: publicprograms@ala.org; Web site: http://publicprograms.ala.org/picturingamerica.
March 22—Community involvement: Nominations are due for the National Awards for Excellence, sponsored by the Coalition for Community Schools. One elementary, one middle and one high school and up to two community-wide initiatives that have been operating for three years or longer will be honored. Contact: Amy Berg, Coalition for Community Schools, Institute for Educational Leadership, 4455 Connecticut Ave. N.W., Suite 310, Washington, DC 20008; (202) 822-8405 ext. 100. Complete selection criteria and applications are available at http://www.communityschools.org.
March 31—Dropouts: Applications are due for the 2007 Civic Change award, sponsored by the Pew Partnership for Civic Change. Organizations or individuals who have implemented community collaborations specifically aimed at reducing the high school dropout rate are eligible to win $2,500. More information is available at www.pew-partnership.org.
March 31—Instruction: Applications are due for the Focused Instruction Matching Grants program, sponsored by Peoples Education. The program matches purchases of $1,000 or more of specific classroom materials with grants of equal value. Contact: Ginny Tanaka, Education Grants Department, 299 Market St., Saddle Brook, NJ 07663; (800) 822-1080; e-mail gtanaka@peoplesed.com, Web site: www.peopleseducation.com.
March 31—Teachers: Applications are due for the Summer Fellowship for Innovative Teachers, sponsored by the Murdock-Thompson Center for Teachers. The $2,000 stipends support the efforts of educators to develop innovative teaching strategies over the summer. Contact: The Murdock-Thompson Center for Teachers, 178 Gano St., Providence, RI 02906; (401) 621-9033; Web site: http://users.ids.net/~murdokca.
April 13—Technology: Nominations are due for the 2007 National Teacher Awards and the 2007 Champion Principal Award, sponsored by Time Warner Cable. Fifteen teachers will be honored for their creative use of cable television resources and will each receive $2,000 in cash and $3,000 for school technology purchases. One principal will receive $5,000 for classroom technology improvements. More information is available at www.timewarnercable.com/corporate/aboutus/natlteachersawards.html.
May 1—Math and science: Nominations are due for the 2007 Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, sponsored by the National Science Foundation. Math and science teachers in grades 7-12 are eligible to win a $10,000 award, a trip to Washington, and other prizes. Contact: (800) 833-1691; e-mail: paemstinfo@esi-dc.com; Web site: www.paemst.org.
May 1—Teachers: Nominations are due for the 2007 Butler-Cooley Excellence in Teaching Awards, sponsored by the Turnaround Management Association and the John William Butler Foundation. Three to five teachers will each be honored for their dedication and skill with $5,000 in cash and a trip to the TMA Annual Convention in Boston in October. Contact: Michele Drayton, Public Relations Manager, The Turnaround Management Association, 100 S. Wacker Drive, Suite 850, Chicago IL 60606; (312) 242-6044; e-mail: mdrayton@turnaround.org; Web site: www.turnaround.org.
STUDENT AWARDS, CONTESTS, AND SCHOLARSHIPS
March 30—Current events:Submissions are due for the StudentCam Competition, sponsored by C-SPAN Classroom. Awards of up to $3,000 will be given to students or teams of students in grades 6-12 that produce documentaries that explore a current political topic of interest. Contact: C-SPAN Classroom, (202) 626-4858; e-mail: educate@c-span.org.
April 1—Arts education: Entries are due for Insights 2007, sponsored by the American Printing House for the Blind. Visually impaired pre-K-12 students may enter artwork in any visual art medium. Winners receive cash prizes. Contact: Roberta Williams, American Printing House for the Blind, 1839 Frankfort Ave., Louisville, KY; (502) 899-2357; e-mail: rwilliams@aph.org.
April 6—Toy Inventions: Entries are due for the Third Annual Invent-A-Toy World Games, sponsored by By Kids For Kids Co. and Mattel. Participants ages 5 to 19 compete to win a licensing contract from BKFK, legal support to patent the invention, and a $5,000 savings bond. Additionally, each winner will have the opportunity to identify an inspirational teacher, who will receive a $1,000 savings bond. Contact: 2007 Invent A Toy World Games, P.O. Box 28186, Columbus, Ohio 43228; e-mail: inventatoy@bkfk.com; Web site: www.bkfk.com/challenge/.
April 15—Safety: Submissions are due for Project Ignition, sponsored by State Farm and the National Youth Leadership Council. Students in grades 9-12 must find a way to creatively address teen driver safety. Twenty-five recipients will each receive a $2,000 grant to aid their project, and the winning school will receive a $10,000 grant.
April 16—Technology: Entries are due for the ThinkQuest International 2007 competition, sponsored by the Oracle Education Foundation. Teams of students ages 9-19 and a teacher-coach must create a Web site on one of a number of possible topics. The top 10 teams in each age division receive laptop computers and a cash award for the coach’s school. Contact: ThinkQuest c/o Oracle Education Foundation, 500 Oracle Parkway, Mailstop 5OP-8, Redwood Shores, CA 94065; Web site: www.thinkquest.org.
April 27—Science and technology:Applications are due for the Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams, sponsored by the Lemelson Foundation and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Teams of high school students, teachers, and mentors are asked to identify a problem that they want to solve and develop a prototype invention to solve that problem. Up to 15 grants of up to $10,000 each are available to support each team’s efforts. Contact: The Lemelson-MIT Program, Attn: Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Building E60-215, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307; (617) 452-2146; fax: (617) 258-8276; e-mail: inventeams@mit.org; Web site: www.inventeams.org.
April 30—Leadership: Nominations are due for the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes, funded by the National Geographic Education Foundation, Youth Service America, the National Youth Leadership Council, and many other organizations and individuals. Adults may nominate a young person 8 to 18 years old who has been a leader in a service activity. Ten winners will each receive $2,000 to be applied to their higher education costs or their service project. Contact: Barbara Ann Richman, Executive Director, The Barron Prize, 545 Pearl St., Boulder, CO 80302; e-mail: ba_richman@barronprize.org; Web site: www.barronprize.org.
