The NEA Foundation Funds “The Leader In Me” Training Project And The Speech Pathology Project
WASHINGTON, DC — December 3, 2012 — Amanda Hall, a counselor, and her co-applicant, Emily Bice, of Oak Creek Elementary School in Lewis Center, Ohio, have received a $5,000 Learning and Leadership Grant from the NEA Foundation. Melissa Butler, a speech language pathologist, and her co-applicant, Lila Nappier, of Jordak Elementary School in Middlefield, Ohio, have received a $5,000 Student Achievement Grant from the NEA Foundation.
Hall and Rice will use the funds to be trained in Stephen Covey’s “The Leader in Me” approach, which incorporates Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Staff will be extensively trained to live the leadership principles, and then implement these principles in the classrooms. Ultimately, educators will use the lessons learned through the training to assist students in developing the ability to solve problems, think critically, set goals, communicate, make positive choices, and work effectively with others.
Butler and Nappier intend to use the grant to introduce technology to individualize instruction and assist at risk reading students in each grade level. Students will utilize laptops and software programs that will address the skill areas of phonemic awareness, vocabulary, grammar, comprehension, and audit memory. The technology will enhance collaboration, data collection, and student motivation across all areas of the curriculum.
“With these grants,we are supporting educator- driven solutions 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.”
Nationwide, the NEA Foundation announced that it is awarding 49 grants totaling $197,000 to support educators’ efforts to improve teaching and learning. The NEA Foundation awards two primary categories of grants to public education professionals: Student Achievement Grants for initiatives to improve academic achievement, and Learning and Leadership Grants for high-quality professional development activities. Of these, one is an NEA Foundation, EarthEcho Water Planet Challenge Grants, which support service-learning programs that improve the health of our water planet.
A team of 20 educators, many of whom are former grantees, carefully reviewed all applications and evaluated each one against a set of criteria. Funded grants were selected for the quality of the proposed ideas and their potential for enhancing student achievement. The latest grants were awarded to educators in 26 different states.
The NEA Foundation has invested more than $8.6 million in grants to support the work of almost 4,000 educators from every state in the country to help students succeed. Each year, the Foundation awards approximately 150 Student Achievement and Learning & Leadership Grants. To learn about these educators’ projects, visit our searchable grantee database.
The Foundation awards its grants to educators three times a year. The next grant deadline is February 1, 2013. Application forms and a video with step by step instructions on how to apply can be found at neafoundation.org.
About the NEA Foundation
The NEA Foundation is a public charity supported by contributions from educators’ dues, corporate sponsors, and others. We support student success by helping public school educators work with key partners to build strong systems of shared responsibility. Visit www.neafoundation.org for more information.
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