Public Comment invited for PA's Individuals with Disabilities grant application

Public comment is invited regarding the Department of Education's (Department) proposed grant application under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA-B). The annual grant application provides assurances that the Commonwealth's policies and procedures in effect are consistent with the Federal requirements to ensure that a free appropriate public education is made available to all children with a disability from 3 to 21 years of age, including children who have been suspended or expelled from school. The current policies and procedures are available for viewing at http://www.education.state.pa.us (go to ''Programs,'' go to ''Programs S-Z,'' go to ''Special Education,'' go to ''Funding Sources,'' go to IDEA Policies and Procedures 2009).

 Section 300.165 of 34 CFR (relating to public participation) requires that the State provide notice, opportunity for public comment and conduct public hearings. Each state must publish the proposed IDEA-B application and current policies and procedures related to IDEA-B. Copies of the proposed grant application and the current policies and procedures are available by viewing the documents on http://www.pattan.net/regsforms/IDEA2004.aspx. Alternative formats of the documents (such as, Braille, large print, cassette tape) can be made available to members of the public upon request. Moreover, public comment for the disabled is welcomed in alternative formats such as Braille, taped comments and telephone comments. Persons who are disabled and wish to submit comments by telephone, contact Beth Runkle, (717) 783-2311.

 Written comments will be received until April 29, 2011. The written comments should be directed to Jean B. Inskip or Dr. Ronald Wells, Special Education Advisers, Bureau of Special Education, Department of Education, 333 Market Street, 7th Floor, Harrisburg, PA 17126-0333.

 Additionally, opportunity for verbal testimony will be held by the Department, Bureau of Special Education, for individuals wishing to present oral testimony on the proposed IDEA-B application and the current policies and procedures. One written copy of oral testimony at the time of presentation would be appreciated. Presentations should be limited to 15 minutes.

 Dates, locations and times for oral testimony regarding the proposed grant application and revised policies and procedures are as follows:

February 28, 2011	PaTTAN—Pittsburgh 3190 William Pitt Way Pittsburgh, PA (4 p.m.—6 p.m.)
March 2, 2011	PaTTAN—Harrisburg 6340 Flank Drive Harrisburg, PA (4 p.m.—6 p.m.)
March 14, 2011	PaTTAN—King of Prussia 200 Anderson Road King of Prussia, PA (4 p.m.—6 p.m.)

 To schedule an opportunity to present oral testimony, or persons with a disability and wish to attend the public testimony and require an accommodation to participate in the proceedings, call Beth Runkle at (717) 783-2311 no later than February 18, 2011.

 Following receipt of all written and oral comments, the Department will consider all comments and make any necessary modifications to the current grant application and to the current policies and procedures before submission of the grant application to the Secretary of the United States Department of Education.

Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship

The Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program seeks to encourage talented science, technology, engineering, and mathematics majors and professionals to become K-12 mathematics and science teachers. The Noyce Scholarship Track provides funds to institutions of higher education to support scholarships, stipends, and academic programs for undergraduate STEM majors and post-baccalaureate students holding STEM degrees who earn a teaching credential and commit to teaching in high-need K-12 school districts. The NSF Teaching Fellowship/Master Teaching Fellowship Track supports STEM professionals who enroll as NSF Teaching Fellows in master's degree programs leading to teacher certification by providing academic courses, professional development, and salary supplements while they are fulfilling a four-year teaching commitment in a high need school district. This track also supports the development of NSF Master Teaching Fellows by providing professional development and salary supplements for exemplary mathematics and science teachers to become Master Teachers in high need school districts. Each track supports Capacity Building Projects to develop the capacity for institutions to provide innovative teacher preparation programs to enable increasing numbers of STEM majors and STEM professionals to become effective K-12 mathematics and science teachers and to develop the capacity to prepare Master science and mathematics teachers.

Link to Full Announcement

NSF Publication 11-517

HS STEM Career Development Grants

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Science and Technology Directorate (S&T),Office of University Programs (UP) is announcing the fifth annual competition for the Homeland Security Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (HS-STEM) Career Development Grants (CDG). The CDG program enables U.S. accredited four-year colleges and universities with existing and/or proposed programs in homeland security-related science, technology, engineering or mathematics to award undergraduate scholarships and/or graduate fellowships to qualified students (refer to Section IV.C.5.c.ii) who intend to pursue homeland security scientific, technology, engineering, or mathematic careers. DHS S&T invites applications to this program from U.S. accredited four-year colleges and universities with HS-STEM curricula. Note: HS-STEM curricula are homeland security specific programs of study or concentrations within existing and/or proposed science,technology, engineering, or mathematics programs. These curricula may lead to majors, minors, certificates, or recognized concentrations in HS-STEM. DHS will support only those homeland security programs that are based on existing and/or proposed accredited science, technology, engineering, or mathematics curricula.As part of the mission, DHS S&T is responsible for providing U.S. leadership in homeland security related science and technology to protect the Nation from terrorist threats and the consequences of natural disasters. The CDG program attempts to create early and ongoing synergies between the homeland security professional and scientific communities and students studying in HS-STEM fields at the U.S. accredited four-year colleges and universities, and to ensure a steady flow of homeland security researchers and practitioners for the future.

NIAID Science Education Awards (R25)

This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) encourages applications from organizations that focus on the development of science education for K-12 students. It is expected that these education programs will provide outreach to a large audience of students at a national level, directly or through their teachers, using approaches where successes can be measured.

Link to Full Announcement

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-11-086.html

$3 million for GED testing program

The American Council on Education has announced a $3 million grant from the MetLife Foundation to develop a national GED testing program.

The GED 21st Century Initiative will seek to achieve three high-impact outcomes: delivery of a more rigorous GED test aligned with the Common Core State Standards; implementation of a national preparation program featuring customized instruction; and support for a transition network that connects GED test-takers to career and postsecondary opportunities. The initiative will be piloted in New York City's District 79, where it will focus on providing GED candidates with the best possibility of achieving measurable gains in math and reading regardless of their initial proficiency level. The pilot was announced last week in New York City by ACE president Molly Corbett Broad, MetLife Foundation president and CEO Dennis White, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, and New York City schools chancellor Joel Klein. MRDC, a nonpartisan education and social policy research firm, will serve as evaluation partner for the pilot.

"More than thirty-six million Americans lack a high school diploma or its equivalent, and every year more than 1.3 million students drop out of high school," said Broad. "We must reach adult learners and help them achieve, in a reasonable amount of time, the credentials needed to move on to postsecondary education or training and ultimately to family-sustaining careers."

“GED Testing Service Receives $3 Million Grant From MetLife Foundation.” American Council on Education Press Release 12/09/10.

Innovative Teachers

The 2011 PBS Teachers Innovation Awards runs January 11, 2011 - March 31, 2011.

Winners will be notified by May 31, 2011.

The top TWELVE winners, one from each of 12 subject/grade groupings, will participate in a week long "Innovation Immersion Experience" at The Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan from July 31 – August 5, 2011, plus receive a FREE PBS TeacherLine professional development course.

McDaniel family establishes "Pay It Forward Fund" with Erie Community Foundation

"Retaining local talent in northwest PA is crucial to the vitality of our region," said Mike Batchelor, president of The Erie Community Foundation. "With that goal in mind, the Charles McDaniel family of North East recently established a Pay It Forward (PIF) Fund at The Erie Community Foundation to help curb “brain drain” in northwest Pennsylvania and encourage acts of kindness along the way."

Awards will be administered through the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership (ERCGP) and will benefit individuals who live and work in Erie, Crawford and/or Warren counties.

Through the Pay It Forward Fund, grants to pay down student loan principal will be made on behalf of award winners to their lending institutions. To be eligible for a Pay It Forward award, individuals must be recent college graduates who have earned a Bachelor’s degree, are committed to living and working in northwest Pennsylvania and have plans to “pay it forward” through future philanthropy, acts of kindness or community service.

The first award is expected to be announced in November 2011, with applications due in September of that year.

To be eligible for the award, applicants must:
• Have a student loan of $500 or greater.
• Have completed a Bachelor’s degree or higher.
• Live and work in northwest PA (Erie, Crawford and/or Warren counties).
• Have completed his/her Bachelor’s degree within the past five years.

Interested applicants and donors click here to send an email to learn more.

Dell Social Innovation Competition

The RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service in the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas and Dell invite college students from around the world who want to improve areas of critical human need through innovation to enter the Dell Social Innovation Competition.

The competition provides a vehicle for taking student innovations from idea to reality and offers a real-world exercise for perfecting students' skills in project/business planning and development, presenting their ideas to investors, and building resource networks. Undergraduate and graduate-level students from any university or college in the world are eligible to enter. The individual or team must be comprised of students currently attending a university. (Students who graduated in December 2010 are eligible to enter.) Team size is not restricted. Contestants must be actively involved in the venture. Teams can seek advice from mentors or outside experts, but the venture must be entirely student-led. Team members must be principal owners of the venture.

The venture should exist primarily to address a significant social problem. The mission and practices of the venture must incorporate a quantifiable social return. Whether it is a for-profit business or a nonprofit organization, the venture must be financially viable; be scalable and take into account the potential for growth; and, If already in existence, must not have been in operation for more than three years. Visit the competition Web site for complete program information and entry guidelines. Link to Complete RFP

InvenTeam grants

The Lemelson-Massachusetts Institute of Technology Program, which is funded by the Lemelson Foundation and administered by MIT's School of Engineering, created the InvenTeam initiative to provide high school students in the United States with the opportunity to cultivate their creativity and to experience invention.

InvenTeams are comprised of high school students, teachers, and mentors who invent technological solutions to real-world problems.

InvenTeam students rely on inquiry and hands-on problem solving as they apply lessons from science, technology, engineering, and math to develop invention prototypes. InvenTeam projects span many fields, from assistive devices to environmental technologies and consumer goods. Applicants are encouraged to consider the needs of the world's poorest people (those earning $2 or less per day) when considering ideas.

Up to thirty-five finalists will be selected from the initial pool of applicants to continue to the next level. The high school teachers of these teams receive Excite Awards and are invited to EurekaFest, a multi-day event celebrating invention at MIT in June. Travel, food, and lodging are provided. Up to fifteen teams will be selected from the finalists to receive grants of up to $10,000 each for the 2011-12 academic year. Grant funds may be used for research, materials, and learning experiences related to the project. Any teacher who facilitates an extracurricular project may allot up to $2,000 of an InvenTeam grant toward a teacher's stipend.

Science, math, and technology teachers at public, private, and vocational high schools are eligible to apply. An InvenTeam can be composed of a small group of students as an extracurricular activity or an entire class. The optimal size for teams is considered to be five to fifteen students. The teacher, assisted by students, is required to apply for the grant. The teacher also recruits students, monitors funds, and supports students through the process.

For the 2011-12 InvenTeams program, the early feedback deadline is March 18, 2011, while the initial application deadline is April 22, 2011.

Visit the MIT Web site for complete program guidelines and information on previous team projects. Link to Complete RFP

SBIR Programs Open

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program at the Institute of Education Sciences (Institute) provides awards up to $1.05 million to small business firms and partners for the research and development (R&D) of commercially viable education technology products or tools. The program accepts proposals to develop products to improve student learning or to improve teacher efficiency in regular education delivery settings, products to improve outcomes among infants or toddlers in early intervention settings or K-12 students in special education settings, or tools used by researchers in the field of education.

FISCAL YEAR 2011 PROGRAM SOLICITATIONS ARE NOW OPEN

The Institute has released two Fiscal Year 2011 Fast-Track (Phase I and Phase II) solicitations.

• Solicitation # ED-IES-11-0009 is a request for proposals for the research and development of education technology products used by students or teachers (or other instructional personnel) or for the research and development of education technology tools used by researchers.
  This solicitation can be found at: https://www.fbo.gov/?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=89f8c19f6be3f4c296178385731bf49b&tab=core&_cview=0
  The due date and time for the receipt of proposals is 11 A.M. EST on January 18, 2011.
• Solicitation #ED-IES-11-R-0014 is a request for proposals for the research and development of technology products used by children, students, or teachers (or other instructional personnel or service providers) in special education.
  This solicitation can be found at: https://www.fbo.gov/?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=60ef9f4664901460d375833585fd680c&tab=core&_cview=0
  The due date and time for the receipt of proposals is 11 A.M. EST on January 20, 2011.

Toyota International Teacher Program

IIE is currently accepting applications for the inaugural Toyota International Teacher Program to South Africa, scheduled for July 24 – August 10, 2011! The deadline to apply is January 23, 2011, 11:59 PM (EST). Please read through the application instructions carefully before starting the online application. Click here to apply online.

The Toyota International Teacher Program values diversity and encourages educators of all backgrounds, subjects, and school types to apply for this unique professional development opportunity.

National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards

The President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities is pleased to present the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards to outstanding after-school and out-of-school programs that are transforming the lives of young people. Programs that receive the award exemplify how arts and humanities programs outside of the regular school day enrich the lives of young people throughout the country by teaching new skills, nurturing creativity, and building self-confidence. These programs offer high-quality and intensive instruction on weekends, afternoons, and summer vacations, providing a safe and productive space for young people in the hours when they are often the most vulnerable. Their carefully focused projects supplement in-school curricula with exposure to a wide variety of artistic and scholastic pursuits. Arts and humanities education has always been a priority for the President’s Committee and is a major focus of the Committee’s ongoing efforts. We are proud of the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award's long record of success in acknowledging and supporting these inspiring programs.

NIH Academic Career Award

Purpose. The purpose of the NIH Academic Career Award (K07) is to provide support to increase the pool of individuals with academic and research expertise to become academic researchers and to enhance the educational or research capacity at the grantee sponsoring grantee institution. The Academic Career Award supports K07 Development awards for more junior level candidates and K07 Leadership awards for more senior individuals with acknowledged scientific expertise and leadership skills. Prospective candidates are encouraged to contact the relevant NIH staff for IC-specific programmatic and budgetary information: Table of Institute and Center Contacts. Mechanism of Support. This FOA will utilize the K07 award mechanism Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards. Awards issued under this FOA are contingent upon the availability of funds and the submission of a sufficient number of meritorious applications.

Link to Full Announcement

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-10-058.html

Gannon offers programming contest for students

[From ErieBlogs] High school students who enjoy computing are encouraged to enter Gannon University’s Computer Programming Contest.

The contest is designed as an incentive for students to learn more about programming and to reward quality work. Cash prizes of $300 for first place, $150 for second, $100 for third and $50 for honorable mention will be offered.

Online registration will begin Jan. 5, 2011. Final project submissions are due Feb. 15. There is no cost to enter.

Students can enter individually or as a group and must have a sponsoring teacher. The sponsoring teacher can be any teacher/instructor who is familiar with the student’s or group’s programming skills.

More about the contest’s requirements

Entries can be written in a high-level programming language such as Visual BASIC, C++ or Java, as long as it is executable on a PC running a LINUX or Windows operating system. Games are acceptable as entries.

All entries must be accompanied by clear documentation of:

• The problem the program is intended to solve.
• Instruction of program installation and deployment or complete installation package.
• Operation instruction.

Submissions will be judged on their functionality, design style, user interface and graphic interaction, completeness of documentation of system and platform requirement, clearness of instruction on how to execute the application and the percentage of self-developed code.

For more information on the contest or guidelines, contact Theresa M. Vitolo, Ph.D., chair and associate professor, Gannon University department of computer and information science, at 814-871-7126, or visit http://www.gannon.edu/programcontest.

Bezos Scholars Program

[From Philanthropy News Digest]

The Bezos Scholars Program @ the Aspen Institute seeks twelve top public high school juniors and twelve dynamic educators to receive seven-day, all-expenses-paid scholarships to attend the Aspen Ideas Festival, June 26 to July 2, 2011, in Aspen, Colorado. The program was created by the Bezos Family Foundation to help cultivate the next generation of leaders.

The program seeks independent thinkers, demonstrated leaders, and engaged community members. Past Bezos Scholars have met with retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, Secretaries of Education Arne Duncan and Margaret Spellings, oceanographer Sylvia Earle, inventor Dean Kamen, Tom's Shoe's founder Tom Mycoskie, and journalist Thomas Friedman, among other notables.

Following attendance at the Aspen Ideas Festival, the student and educator teams will return home and create Local Ideas Festivals in their schools.

To be eligible for the program, the student and educator team must be from a public high school (including charter and magnet schools) at which at least 25 percent of students are eligible for the free/reduced lunch program. The school must offer Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or the opportunity to take college/community college courses.

Student applicants must be public high school juniors during the 2010-11 academic year who: demonstrate leadership in school and community, have a GPA of 3.5 or higher and have scored exceptionally well on PSAT/SAT/or ACT,are enrolled in Advanced Placement/International Baccalaureate/college classes, and are legal U.S. citizens or permanent residents of the U.S.

Visit the Bezos Family Foundation Web site to review the school and scholar criteria, view videos, and download the , program flyer, application form, and an FAQ.

Contact:
Link to Complete RFP

Research Experience for Teachers in Engineering / Computer Science

The Directorate for Engineering (ENG) and the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE), Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) in Engineering and Computer Science program supports the active involvement of K-12 science, technology, engineering, computer and information science, and mathematics (STEM) teachers and community college faculty in engineering and computer science research in order to bring knowledge of engineering, computer science, and technological innovation into their classrooms. The goal is to help build long-term collaborative partnerships between K-12 STEM teachers, community college faculty, and the NSF university research community by involving the teachers and community college faculty in engineering and computer science research and helping them translate their research experiences and new knowledge into classroom activities. Partnerships with inner city schools or other high needs schools are especially encouraged, as is participation by underrepresented minorities, women, and persons with disabilities. This announcement features two mechanisms for support of in-service and pre-service K-12 STEM teachers and community college faculty: RET supplements to ongoing ENG or CISE awards and new RET Site awards. RET supplements may be included in proposals for new or renewed NSF Directorate for Engineering (ENG) or CISE grants or as supplements to ongoing NSF ENG or CISE funded projects. RET in Engineering and Computer Science Sites are based on independent proposals from engineering or computer and information science departments, schools or colleges to initiate and conduct research participation projects for a number of K-12 STEM teachers and/or community college faculty.

NSF Publication 11-509

Lumina Foundation Education grants

[From Philanthropy News Digest]

The Indianapolis-based Lumina Foundation for Education has announced third-quarter grants totaling more than $25 million to organizations in twenty states and the District of Columbia working to enhance college access and success.

The grants will support efforts to prepare students academically, financially, and socially for success beyond high school; improve college completion rates; and increase higher education productivity and capacity to serve more students. Grant recipients include Washington, D.C.-based HCM Strategists, which was awarded more than $2.8 million to manage state contracts and coordinate technical support for Lumina's productivity initiative; the Education Trust, which received almost $1.8 million to support the next phase of the Access to Success initiative; and the Rutgers University Foundation, which received $799,700 to help adults finish their degrees online through a state workforce development system.

The foundation also awarded $800,000 to the American Association of Community Colleges to build on community college programs with proven success, $252,300 to the Brookings Institute to improve public-institution and state financial aid policies, and $800,000 to the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Foundation to strengthen the RAPID completion program.

"In striving to reach Lumina's Big Goal of increasing the percentage of Americans who hold high-quality degrees and credentials to 60 percent by 2025, we've learned very quickly that Lumina is-and must be-more than just a grant making organization," said Jamie Merisotis, the foundation's president and CEO. "We increasingly recognize that, as an independent foundation pursuing a vital mission, we must also be a leadership organization."

For a complete list of third-quarter grants, visit the Lumina Foundation Web site.

“Lumina Foundation for Education Announces Third-Quarter Grants.” Lumina Foundation for Education Press Release 11/30/10.

ADVANCE program

Expected Number of Awards: 23
Estimated Total Program Funding: $12,200,000

The goal of the ADVANCE program is to develop systemic approaches to increase the representation and advancement of women in academic science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers, thereby contributing to the development of a more diverse science and engineering workforce. ADVANCE focuses on ensuring that women faculty with earned STEM degrees consider academia as a viable and attractive career option. This program does not support projects to increase or retain the number of women entering into or persisting in STEM doctoral degree programs. Thus, efforts to impact the STEM pipeline are not considered appropriate for the ADVANCE Program. Creative strategies to realize the ADVANCE program goal are sought from women and men. Members of underrepresented minority groups and individuals with disabilities are especially encouraged to apply.

Link to Full Announcement NSF Publication 10-593

MetLife award $3.8 M for student achievement grants

[From Philanthropy News Digest] The MetLife Foundation has announced grants totaling $3.8 million to nonprofit organizations working to encourage collaborative teaching and school leadership as a strategy for boosting student achievement.

Grant recipients include the Center for Teaching Quality in Hillsborough, North Carolina, which will use the funds to leverage its virtual network of teachers to share and implement a vision for twenty-first century teaching and learning; the Developmental Studies Center in Oakland, California, which will partner with school districts to provide teachers with more efficient ways to strengthen teaching and learning for all students; and the New York City-based New Leaders for New Schools, which will use the funds to expand its EPIC Knowledge system and share effective leadership strategies in schools serving disadvantaged students. In addition, the foundation awarded grants to the Asia Society's Partnership for Global Learning initiative, Washington, D.C.-based College Summit, Dallas-based Learning Forward (formerly the National Staff Development Council), and the School Leaders Network in Hinsdale, Massachusetts.

Earlier this year, the MetLife Foundation released the results of a survey which found that a majority of teachers (67 percent) and principals (78 percent) strongly agree that greater collaboration among teachers and school leaders would have a major impact on improving student achievement. "Survey research is not just about asking, but also about listening," said MetLife Foundation president and CEO Dennis White. "We are pleased to respond by supporting a group of effective national organizations that encourage collaboration to increase success in classrooms and schools nationwide."

“MetLife Foundation Supports Collaborative Leadership in Education With $3.8 Million in Grants.” MetLife Foundation Press Release 11/16/10.

Top 50 Education Funders

A presentation of the top 50 funders of education, via GrantSpace: http://foundationcenter.org/findfunders/statistics/pdf/04_fund_sub/2008/50_found_sub/f_sub_b_08.pdf

Two new library grant programs

[From Philanthropy News Digest]
Through funding from the Margaret A. Edwards Trust, the Young Adult Library Services Association, a division of the American Library Association, will award up to ten Teen Tech Week mini-grants, consisting of $450 in cash and $50 worth of Teen Tech Week products, to YALSA members who create a reading program that incorporates technology.

Teen Tech Week is designed to help teens learn to become efficient and ethical users of technology, especially in a library setting. Teen Tech Week also encourages teens to recognize that librarians are qualified, trusted professionals in the field of information technology. Teen Tech Week 2011 will be celebrated March 6-12 with a theme of "Mix and Mash @ your library."

Visit the ALA Web site for complete program information. Link to Complete RFP

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The Laura Bush Foundation for America's Libraries was founded in 2002 as a fund of the Community Foundation for the National Capital Region. Since its inception, the foundation has awarded more than $7.3 million to 1,433 pre-K-12 schools in all fifty states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Marshall Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands. In addition to these grants, the foundation also has awarded more than $5.7 million to school libraries in the Gulf Coast region to rebuild book collections that were lost or destroyed by recent hurricanes and storms.

Only schools where a minimum of 50 percent of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunches are eligible to apply for LBF regular grants. Because research demonstrates a clear relationship between family income and a student's access to books, the LBF gives selection preference to schools in which 90 percent or more of the students receive free or reduced-price lunches and are likely to have the fewest books at home.

Schools in all fifty states, the District of Columbia, all American territories, and Department of Defense schools in other countries are eligible to apply. This includes all public, private, parochial, charter, city, state, county, and reservation schools — including special schools, social services schools, and juvenile detention center schools in any of those jurisdictions — that serve any combination of pre-kindergarten through high school students.

The foundation makes grants of up to $6,000 to update, extend, and diversify the book collections of the libraries that receive them. All LBF grants are made to individual schools rather than to school districts, county systems, private organizations, foundations, or other entities.

In order to promote a love of reading, the goal of the foundation is to provide books to the school libraries and students that most need them. Consequently, funds are available only for library books and magazine/serial copies and subscriptions.

All applications must be submitted through the foundation's Web site. Visit the site for complete program guidelines, application procedures, and an FAQ. Link to Complete RFP

Unsung Heroes program

[From Philanthropy News Digest] The ING Unsung Heroes program annually provides grants to K-12 educators utilizing new teaching methods and techniques to improve learning.

Educators are welcome to submit grant applications describing projects they have initiated or would like to pursue. Each project is judged on its innovative method, creativity, and ability to positively influence students.

Each year, one hundred educators are selected to receive $2,000 each to help fund their innovative class projects. Three recipients are then selected to receive additional top awards of $5,000, $10,000, and $25,000.

All K-12 education professionals are eligible to apply. Applicants must be employed by an accredited K-12 public or private school located in the United States and must be full-time educators, teachers, principals, paraprofessionals, or classified staff with projects that improve student learning.

Visit the ING Web site for 2011 program guidelines and application materials.

Contact:
Link to Complete RFP

Music Education grants

[From Philanthropy News Digest] The nonprofit NAMM Foundation works to advance active, lifelong participation in music making by supporting scientific research, philanthropic giving, and public service programs of the international music products industry.

The organization has announced the availability of grants through its Wanna Play Fund to provide instruments to schools and community organizations that are expanding or reinstating music education programs as part of a core curriculum and/or that employ quality music teachers.

Eligible applicants are public schools serving low-income students (percentage of free and reduced lunch data required); community organizations serving low-income students and students with special needs (community demographic information required); and schools and community programs that have made a commitment to hiring and retaining high-quality music teachers and providing standards-based, sequential learning in music.

Online grant applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Applicants will be notified within thirty days of submission whether or not a grant will be awarded.

Complete program information and an online application form are available at the NAMM Foundation Web site.

Contact:
Link to Complete RFP

Shell Science Lab Challenge

[From Philanthropy News Digest] The National Science Teachers Association, the largest professional organization in the world working to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning, and Shell Oil Company have launched a new competition for middle and high school teachers that will bring laboratory resources to school districts across the United States. Through the NSTA Shell Science Lab Challenge, schools will compete for up to $93,000 in total prizes, including a grand-prize school science lab makeover valued at $20,000.

The challenge invites middle and high school science teachers (grades 6-12) in the U.S. and Canada (with special attention to urban and underrepresented groups) to describe a replicable approach to science lab instruction using limited school and laboratory resources.

Entries will be judged on the basis of several criteria, including uniqueness, creativity, and replicability. Eighteen regional winners will be selected. From those, five national winners will be chosen, and from the national winners a grand-prize winner will be selected.

All winners will receive donated science lab equipment or gift certificates, a grant to purchase additional science lab tools and resources, a $300 gift certificate to the NSTA Bookstore, and membership to the NSTA and the NSTA Learning Center.

For complete program guidelines and application procedures, visit the NSTA Web site.

Contact:
Link to Complete RFP

International Science and Education Grants

Description

The International Science and Education Competitive Grants Program (ISE) supports research, extension, and teaching activities that will enhance the capabilities of American colleges and universities to conduct international collaborative research, extension and teaching. ISE projects are expected to enhance the international content of curricula; ensure that faculty work beyond the U.S. and bring lessons learned back home; promote international research partnerships; enhance the use and application of foreign technologies in the U.S.; and strengthen the role that colleges and universities play in maintaining U.S. competitiveness.

Link to Full Announcement

International Science and Education Grants Program

Talent Search program

The purpose of the TS Program is to identify qualified individuals with potential for education
at the postsecondary level and encourage them to complete secondary school and undertake a program of postsecondary education. TS projects publicize the availability of, and facilitate the application for, student financial assistance for persons who seek to pursue postsecondary education and encourage persons who have not completed programs at the secondary or
postsecondary level to enter or reenter and complete these programs.

Projects provide tutorial services, career exploration, aptitude assessments, counseling, mentoring programs, workshops, information on postsecondary institutions; education or counseling services designed to improve the financial and economic literacy of students; guidance on and assistance in secondary school reentry, alternative education programs for secondary school dropouts, entry into general educational development programs or postsecondary education; and programs and activities previously mentioned that are specially designed for students who are limited English proficient, students from groups that are traditionally underrepresented in postsecondary education, students with disabilities, students who are homeless children and youths, students who are in foster care or are aging out of the foster care system or other disconnected students.

Eligible Applicants: Institutions of higher education, public and private agencies and organizations including community-based organizations with experience in serving disadvantaged youth, combinations of such institutions, agencies and organizations, and secondary schools, for planning, developing, or carrying out one or more of the services identified under this program.

Expected Number of Awards:	464
Estimated Total Program Funding:	$142,000,000
Award Ceiling:	$460,000

Deadline: December 28

My Future Career Tools

The Department of Defense has recently announced the launch of Myfuture.com which helps young adults plan their next steps in life by bringing together the most recently available information about colleges, careers and military services. Designed primarily for individuals between 16 and 24, the site features information drawn and collated from the U.S. Departments of Commerce, Defense, Education and Labor. The site contains information on more than 1,000 military and civilian careers and nearly 7,000 accredited colleges, universities and trade schools, and can serve as a central resource for valuable background on college admission requirements, employment trends and military benefits.

MyFuture also provides useful advice across a wide spectrum -- help on taking the SAT examination to interviewing for a first job to preparing for boot camp. Step-by-step planning checklists are also available along with the capability to store favorite job and educational information for future visits.

The site has gained early acceptance. The military information pages have earned 100,000 page views so far, and more than 3,000 visitors have created accounts on the website. As part of the outreach campaign, the website is also being highlighted on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

The site architects do note that Myfuture does not offer career counseling, but acknowledges that self-assessment is key to developing career goals. This site joins the One-Stop joins www.careeronestop.org and www.mySkillsmyFuture.org in the constellation of governmental websites designed to assist all Americans in their educational pursuits, career-decision making, job search, and reemployment ambitions.

Service Enterprise Systems (SES)

The SES program supports research on strategic decision making, design, planning, and operation of commercial, nonprofit, and institutional service enterprises with the goal of improving their overall effectiveness and cost reduction. The program has a particular focus on healthcare and other similar public service institutions, and emphasizes research topics leading to more effective systems modeling and analysis as a means to improved planning, resource allocation, and policy development.

Deadline(s): September 1 - October 1, Annually January 15 - February 15, Annually

What Has Been Funded (Recent Awards Made Through This Program, with Abstracts)

Research on Gender & STEM

The Research on Gender in Science and Engineering program supports efforts to understand and address gender-based differences in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and workforce participation through research, the diffusion of research-based innovations, and extension services in education that will lead to a larger and more diverse domestic science and engineering workforce. Typical projects will contribute to the knowledge base addressing gender-related differences in learning and in the educational experiences that affect student interest, performance, and choice of careers; how pedagogical approaches and teaching styles, curriculum, student services, and institutional culture contribute to causing or closing gender gaps that persist in certain fields.

Expected Number of Awards:	22
Estimated Total Program Funding:	$5,000,000

Deadline: Feb. 9, 2011

Education Innovation grants

[From Philanthropy News Digest] Honoring a commitment to people who have pledged to see the new documentary Waiting for "Superman," about the crises facing the nation's public schools, the NewSchools Venture Fund has announced a $5 million investment in innovative education organizations nationwide working to close achievement gaps in low-income communities.

Recipients of the funding, part of a commitment by San Francisco-based NewSchools to provide additional support for education reform efforts after 150,000 people pledged to see the recently-released documentary, will be announced in the coming months. Directed by An Inconvenient Truth filmmaker Davis Guggenheim, the documentary features a number of schools operated by organizations in the NewSchools investment portfolio. The pledge goal was reached on October 8.

Founded in 1998, NewSchools provides funding and management guidance to entrepreneurial organizations working to improve public education for low-income children. NewSchools' investments include organizations that recruit and train teachers, start public charter schools, work to turn around failing schools, and create technology tools for the classroom.

"Waiting for 'Superman' shines a bright light on two important truths," said NewSchools Venture Fund CEO Ted Mitchell. "Excellent schools with outstanding teachers make all the difference in a child's life. But in some places in this country, access to an excellent school is a matter of chance. It's not fair, and we all need to step up to change the odds. NewSchools and its entrepreneurs are demonstrating every day that it can be done."

“NewSchools Announces $5 Million Investment in Entrepreneurial Organizations as 150K People Pledge to See Waiting for 'Superman'.” NewSchools Venture Fund Press Release 10/08/10.

Engineering Education Centers

Expected Number of Awards: 40
Estimated Total Program Funding: $8,000,000
The Division of Engineering Education and Centers (EEC) seeks to enable a world-leading system of engineering education, equally open and available to all members of society, that dynamically and rapidly adapts to meet the changing needs of society and the nation's economy. Research areas of interest include, but are not limited to:Increasing our understanding of how engineering students learn and the capacity that supports such discovery. Fundamental research is encouraged on how engineering is learned, including engineering epistemologies and identities; and how to evaluate or operationalize aspects of engineering thinking, doing, and knowing. Understanding how to increase the diffusion and impact of engineering education research. Research projects are sought that discover how to improve the process by which engineering education research is translated into practice; how to accomplish organizational and cultural change in institutions of engineering education that leads to improved learning outcomes; or identifying and overcoming barriers to widespread adoption of engineering education research. Research projects that partner with other engineering education stakeholders (e.g. private companies, NGOs, or professional societies) to measure the value and impact of engineering education research on practice are also sought.Understanding engineering education in broader, organizing frameworks such as innovation, globalization, complex engineered systems, or sustainability.

Change the Equation

[From Philanthropy News Digest] The White House has announced the launch of Change the Equation (CTEq), a public-private partnership designed to cultivate widespread literacy in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).

An offshoot of the $250 million public-private Educate to Innovate initiative, CTEq has received commitments from more than a hundred companies and several foundations that are dedicated to preparing U.S. students for STEM-related careers as an investment in business, the economy, and the country's future. In collaboration with the Obama administration, state houses nationwide, and the education and foundation communities, CTEq aims to improve STEM teaching at all grade levels with a larger and more racially, ethnically, and gender-diverse pool of highly capable STEM teachers; deepen student appreciation and excitement for STEM programs and careers, especially among women and students of color; and achieve a sustained commitment to the STEM movement through communication, collaboration, and data-based decision making.

In its first year, CTEq will work to establish a set of criteria to help guide the initiative and its member companies in defining program success, create a state-by-state scorecard to assess the condition of STEM education across the country, and launch a core set of programs at a hundred sites across the country. The initiative's board is made up of executives from ExxonMobil, which has committed $120 million to the initiative; Intel, which invests $100 million in education annually; Time Warner Cable; the Eastman Kodak Company; Sally Ride Science; and Xerox. Additional corporate and foundation partners include Texas Instruments, Bayer, JPMorgan Chase, Oracle, Boeing, Samsung, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, and the Bill & Melinda Gates and S.D. Bechtel, Jr. foundations.

According to a Center on Education and the Workforce report, there will be eight million job openings in STEM-related fields by 2018, although the next generation of U.S. workers will be unprepared and unqualified to take advantage of many of those positions. Meanwhile, a CTEq-funded survey found that nearly three-in-ten adults believe they are not good at math, an attitude especially prevalent among younger Americans.

Target donates to reading programs

[From Philanthropy News Digest] The Minneapolis-based Target Corporation has announced that it will donate more than $500 million in support of education by 2015, doubling its support for education-related activities and organizations to date.

The commitment is part of a new reading initiative, Target Read With Me, that aims to help more U.S. children become proficient in reading by the end of third grade. Through the initiative, Target will work to encourage parents and caring adults to commit to a reading schedule with a child, provide up to two million books to children in need, and create an innovative reading center that will reach communities across the country using both physical and virtual locations.

According to the most recent data available, one out of four young people in the U.S. fails to graduate from high school, while nearly 40 percent of African-American and Hispanic students do not earn a diploma. By launching the initiative and increasing its focus on helping young children read more proficiently, Target hopes to build greater awareness of the education crisis in America, reinforce the importance of the role reading plays in shaping a child's future, and provide access to the tools and resources needed to help children beat the odds and stay on the path to graduation.

"When more than a million students a year fail to graduate with their class, it's more than a problem, it's a catastrophe," said Gen. Colin L. Powell, founding chair of America's Promise Alliance. "Our economic and national security are at risk when we fail to educate the leaders and the workforce of the future. No single organization or entity can solve this issue on its own. We have a responsibility to unite across sectors to address this crisis on its own. We have a responsibility to unite across sectors to address this crisis because we cannot afford to let our kids fail."

“Target Announces Plans to Reach $1 Billion in Support of Education.” Target Press Release 9/27/10.

Kresge Foundation Announces New Education Grantmaking Strategy

[From Philanthropy News Digest] The Kresge Foundation in Troy, Michigan, has announced a new education grantmaking strategy designed to increase the number of low-income and underserved individuals earning two- or four-year college degrees.

The three-part effort will focus on supporting pathways to and through college, building the capacity of postsecondary institutions, and promoting systems and technology that increase productivity and foster innovation in higher education.

To that end, the Pathways for Students initiative will support national, regional, and state- or consortium-based efforts that assist large numbers of low-income, first-generation African-American, Latino, and Native-American students entering and graduating from community colleges and four-year institutions. Through the Strengthening Institutions initiative, the foundation will work to build the capacity of community colleges and minority-serving and special-mission institutions — historically black colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, tribal colleges and universities, and Title III and Title V institutions — with a primary mission to educate low-income, underrepresented, and first-generation college students. And through the Higher Education Productivity initiative, the foundation will fund networks and systems that operate at the cutting edge of academic and/or administrative productivity, employing new and proven uses of technology for educating students and creating back-office cost savings and efficiencies.

“Kresge Foundation Announces New Grantmaking Strategy to Increase the Number of College Graduates in the U.S..” Kresge Foundation Press Release 9/17/10.

Community College White House Summit

A White House Summit on Community Colleges will be held on October 5, 2010. Dr. Jill Biden discusses the Summit and how individuals can share stories, ideas, and questions for the summit in a September 15, 2010 posting to the White House blog.

White House Press Release on Summit

ArtsErie receives over $1M for elementary school art programs

[From Congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper's website] Monday, 13 September 2010 10:23 Erie, Pa.—Congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper (PA-3) today announced ArtsErie has been awarded $1,122,733 in federal funding for their new project, Art in Action, to strengthen arts experiences in local elementary schools. The funds will support Art in Action for four years, serving about 900 local students annually by incorporating the arts into their classroom curricula. The program will also create local teaching opportunities for artists and educators.

The funding was awarded through the Department of Education’s Arts in Education Model Development and Dissemination grant program (AEMDD). Of 200 applicants from throughout the United States for the AEMDD grant program, only 33 were chosen to receive funds, including ArtsErie.

ArtsErie will partner with Union City Elementary School, Second District Elementary School in Meadville, Cambridge Springs Elementary School, and Edinboro University of Pennsylvania for Art in Action over the next four years. Resident artists will be assigned to up to forty-eight classrooms of students in grades PK-6 each year. For nine weeks, these artists will infuse arts-based instruction into the classroom to improve student achievement and engagement.

In addition to the advantages for the students, more than 60 elementary school teachers will benefit from ongoing training and professional development to help enhance their teaching skills through the arts, including an opportunity for a three-credit graduate course at Edinboro University. Art in Action will undergo an ongoing evaluation process to measure the program’s effectiveness for the students. The evaluation results will be made available to the education community to share the successes and lessons of the program with other schools.

ArtsErie’s Art in Action project is also creating jobs and business opportunities in the area. In addition to the resident artists in the classroom, art specialists will help facilitate teacher training and retired teachers will observe classrooms as part of the program evaluation, which is being managed by KeyStone Research Corporation in Erie.

The AEMDD grant program stipulates projects must serve at least one elementary or middle school in which 35 percent or more of the children enrolled are from low-income families. One hundred percent of the total costs of the program or project will be financed with federal money.

HMH creates $100M Innovation Fund

[From Philanthropy News Digest] Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, a leading global education company, has announced the creation of a $100 million innovation fund to support the development of new products that promote and enhance student achievement, individualized learning, and effective technology integration in the classroom.

The HMH Innovation Fund will work to engage all stakeholders — teachers, administrators, parents, and students — by creating a collaborative process for soliciting, evaluating, developing, and executing innovative ideas that address teaching and learning challenges and will also support the development of new consumer applications to engage students outside the classroom.

The educational publisher also has committed to investing as much as $300 million over the next three years in the development of innovation centers in the United States and Dublin, Ireland. Teams at HMH will work closely with institutions in other sectors — manufacturers, foundations, and academia — to roll out broader technology initiatives such as a one-year pilot program in four California school districts featuring the first full-curriculum algebra application for the iPad.

“Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Announces $100 Million Innovation Fund to Invest in Education Initiatives Globally.” Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Press Release 9/13/10.

Science to Achieve Results Fellowships

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as part of its Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program, is offering Graduate Fellowships for master’s and doctoral level students in environmental fields of study. The deadline is November 5, 2010 at 4:00 PM for receipt of paper applications, and November 5, 2010 at 11:59:59 PM ET for submittal of electronic applications to Grants.gov. Subject to availability of funding, the Agency plans to award approximately 105 new fellowships by June 30, 2011. Master's level students may receive support for a maximum of two years. Doctoral students may be supported for a maximum of three years, usable over a period of five years. The fellowship program provides up to $42,000 per year of support per fellowship.

Fall 2011 EPA Science To Achieve Results (STAR) Fellowships For Graduate Environmental Study

Education Grant Program

Lowes Toolbox for Education Grant Program
The Toolbox for Education Grant Program, offered by Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation, provides grants of $2,000 to $5,000 to public K-12 schools and school parent-teacher groups associated with public schools throughout the U.S. that develop projects that encourage parent involvement and build stronger community spirit. Preference is given to funding requests that have a permanent impact such as facility enhancement (both indoor and outdoor) as well as landscaping/clean up projects. This year the program is seeking ways to provide the tools that help educators and parent groups through these challenging times efficiently and with the greatest impact. Therefore, basic needs will take priority. The application deadlines for the upcoming school year are October 15, 2010 and February 18, 2011. Visit the program’s website for detailed funding guidelines.

Financial Literacy National Strategy: Request for Comments

On behalf of the Financial Literacy and Education Commission, the Department of Treasury announced it is seeking comment on the draft "National Strategy for Financial Literacy 2010."

The September 3, 2010 FEDERAL REGISTER provides full background, and instructions for obtaining a copy of the draft as well as for the submission of comments. Please note that the comment period is limited; comments must be received by September 19, 2010.

Also see:

Treasury Department Publishes Proposed Set of Financial Education "Core Competencies"; Seeks Comments by September 12

Broadening participation in engineering

To address the need to enhance diversity in its programs, the Directorate for Engineering (ENG) at the National Science Foundation is offering research initiation grants under the program name Broadening Participation Research Initiation Grants in Engineering, BRIGE. ENG offers this BRIGE funding opportunity to all beginning engineers with the intent of increasing the diversity of researchers in the engineering disciplines. The goal of the BRIGE solicitation is to increase the number of proposals to the Directorate for Engineering from individuals who can serve as role models and mentors for an increasingly diverse engineering student population who will become the workforce of the future. BRIGE aims to support innovative research and diversity plans that contribute to recruiting and retaining a broad representation of engineering researchers especially those subgroups that are underrepresented in the engineering population in programs supported by these grants. Throughout this solicitation, the term underrepresented groups will refer to and include the following: women, persons with disabilities, and ethnic groups which are in the minority in engineering such as African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and Pacific Islanders.

Link to Full Announcement

NSF Publication 10-609

National Math and Science Initiative

[From Philanthropy News Digest] The National Math and Science Initiative has announced that its Advanced Placement Training and Incentive Program helped boost the number of students who passed the AP tests in math, English, and science by 98 percent between 2008 and 2010.

The NMSI program is designed to increase teacher effectiveness and student achievement. During the 2009-10 school year there was an 84.6 percent increase in the number of students who passed AP exams at the seventy-five first-year APTIP schools — more than eleven times the national increase of 7.5 percent, and an improvement from the 52 percent increase recorded by the first cohort of sixty-five schools in 2008-09. The results from schools that participated both years were significantly better than the national two-year increase of 13.6 percent.

In addition, there was a 107.3 percent increase in math, science and English AP exams passed by African-American and Hispanic students during 2009-10 and a 91.5 percent increase in exams passed by female students. The first cohort of schools reported a 154.6 percent increase in passing math, science, and English scores in two years among African-Americans and Hispanics, which is almost six times the national two-year increase of 27.7 percent. Among female students attending the first cohort of schools, a 116.4 percent increase in passing math and science scores in two years was reported, which is almost thirteen times the national two-year increase of 9.2 percent.

This year, APTIP will be implemented in more than two hundred and twenty public high schools across six states — Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Kentucky, Massachusetts, and Virginia — and is expected to reach three hundred and fifty schools by the fall of 2012.

$58.7 M for Philly schools

Fifty-seven struggling Pennsylvania schools - most of them in Philadelphia - will share $101 million in federal grants over three years to boost student achievement.

In the region, 33 schools will split $58.7 million.

But the money comes with strings attached.

The schools must adopt one of four reform models that trigger changes such as replacing principals or at least half of their teaching forces, bringing in outside management, or closing schools and transferring students to higher-performing ones.

Schools in the Philadelphia, William Penn, and Southeast Delco districts, plus the Philadelphia Montessori Charter School and the West Philadelphia Achievement Charter School learned Thursday that they would receive between $679,200 (Park Lane Elementary in Darby) and $4.2 million (Lincoln High in Philadelphia).

The Chester Upland School District, which applied for $6 million in grants for two schools, was not awarded any money.

Districts will still be able to apply for an additional $40 million to be awarded this year, Pennsylvania Department of Education spokesman Steven Weitzman said Thursday.

Read more: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/20100827_33_schools_in_the_Philadelphia_region_will_share__58_7_million_in_federal_grants.html#ixzz0yTF2JQIy
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Calif. wins $1.2 billion for Education Fund

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced that California will receive $1.2 billion to support education jobs.

"There is a huge sense of urgency to get these funds out the door. I commend California for being the first state to submit their application and thank our team at the Department for making funds available within a matter of days," said Duncan. "These education dollars will help California keep thousands of teachers in the classroom working with our students this school year."

The $10 billion education fund will support education jobs in the 2010-11 school year and be distributed to states by a formula based on population figures. States can distribute their funding to school districts based on their own primary funding formula or districts' relative share of federal Title I funds.

Over the last two years, the Department has been able to support 300,000 education jobs through stimulus funding provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. At this time, 7 states have drawn down 100% of previously allocated jobs funding, while 18 states total have drawn down 80% or more. A July report from the independent Center on Education Policy found that 75% of school districts that received stimulus funds expect to cut teaching positions in the upcoming school year.

$3 Million career readiness initiative

The Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University has announced a $3 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help school districts improve their high school graduation rates and college and career readiness efforts.

The grant will be used to develop College Readiness Indicator Systems that schools can use to identify students in danger of dropping out of high school or graduating unprepared for postsecondary education or a job. According to leading researchers, attendance patterns, course failures, suspensions, and other factors can be used to predict which students are on track to graduate and which are not.

The Annenberg Institute will select up to six school districts or networks nationwide to take part in the project. The sites will work with the institute and the John W. Gardner Center at Stanford University to expand and implement their early warning systems to focus on college and career readiness. The grant also will support semi-annual meetings among participants to encourage the frequent sharing of information and best practices.

Transforming STEM learning

TSL combines interests and resources of separate programs in the Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL) to explore the opportunities and challenges implied by innovative visions of the future for STEM learning.?? The TSL program invites interdisciplinary teams of STEM content specialists, experts in relevant technologies, STEM formal and informal education specialists, researchers with expertise in the learning sciences, and specialists in education research and evaluation methods to submit proposals for research projects that (1) Study efficacy of existing prototypes for innovations like virtual schools, special STEM schools, and educational programs that combine opportunities of formal and informal learning resources in their communities; or (2) Design and conduct exploratory development of new potentially transformative models for STEM learning environments.?? The cross-cutting proposals will draw from work in the four primary DRL programs: Discovery Research K-12 (DR K-12), Informal Science Education (ISE), Research and Evaluation on Education in Science and Engineering (REESE), and Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST).?? However, proposals submitted in response to this solicitation must have a scope that extends well beyond any of those programs individually.

Link to Full Announcement: NSF Publication 10-602

Afterschool reading and math grants awarded

[From Philanthropy News Digest] The New York Life Foundation has announced a two-year, $1.6 million grant to the Oakland-based Developmental Studies Center to expand its afterschool reading and math enrichment programs nationally.

Building on New York Life Foundation grants of $700,000 in 2007 and $2.4 million in 2008, the latest funding will enable at least eight hundred new sites around the country to participate in the Afterschool KidzLit and Afterschool KidzMath programs, bringing the total number of participating sites to three thousand. KidzLit is a K-8 reading enrichment and social development program built around nearly two hundred popular children's books featuring diverse cultures and settings, while KidzMath is a K-6 math enrichment and social development program that utilizes a mix of fifty collaborative games and twenty math-related storybooks.

Program sites receive free professional development for two or three of their staff members at thirty workshops across the country as well as a 10 percent discount on materials. High-need program sites (those with at least 50 percent disadvantaged children) receive a 25 percent discount on materials.

YouthBuild Walmart Foundation grants

[Philanthropy News Digest] The Walmart Foundation has announced a $2.6 million grant to YouthBuild USA to support education and job training for low-income youth.

The grant will provide training in green building skills to two thousand 16- to 24-year-olds while they work toward their GEDs or high school diplomas. Through YouthBuild programs, the young people will help build affordable housing units for homeless and poor people in California, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Virginia, Vermont, Wisconsin, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C.

“The Walmart Foundation Awards $2.6 Million to YouthBuild USA.” Walmart Foundation Press Release 8/11/10.

Verizon PA Library grants

[From Philanthropy News Digest] Pennsylvania's twenty-nine district library center organizations are invited to compete for a total of $150,000 in grants from the Verizon Foundation to support literacy initiatives that incorporate Verizon Thinkfinity.org resources into their programs.

The foundation will award grants of up to $15,000 each to district library center organizations that best use Thinkfinity.org resources to enhance existing programs, or launch new ones, for library patrons. Thinkfinity.org offers free, online educational and literacy resources for teachers, parents, and students provided in partnership with leading educational and literacy organizations. To be eligible, grant applicants must be Pennsylvania nonprofit district library center organizations.

Proposals must be submitted online at the Verizon Foundation's Web site.
Link to Complete RFP

New postsecondary education awards

[From Philanthropy News Digest] Indianapolis-based USA Funds has announced grants totaling $2.8 million to one hundred organizations in eleven states and the District of Columbia working to broaden access to postsecondary education.

Second-quarter grants included $275,000 to the Asian and Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund to produce a white paper that examines how Asian and Pacific Islander students finance their education, $270,000 to the Indiana Commission for Higher Education for the Learn More Indiana program, and $100,000 to the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning for the College Knowledge Project, which is designed to inform low-income and first-generation Mississippi students of postsecondary education opportunities.

"These awards support programs that improve students' awareness of and preparation for postsecondary education, promote access to high-quality higher education opportunities, and increase student persistence and completion of their programs of study," said USA Funds senior vice president of program and corporate development Robert C. Ballard. "USA Funds focuses its grantmaking primarily on underserved low-income middle and high school students, students of color, and first-generation postsecondary students."

“USA Funds Awards $2.8 Million in Higher Education Grants.” USA Funds Press Release 8/03/10.

Investing in Innovation Fund Awards

The U.S. Department of Education has announced forty-nine finalists for the $650 million Investing in Innovation (i3) fund.

Chosen from a pool of nearly 1,700 applicants, the finalists include four organizations — the KIPP Foundation, Ohio State University, the Success for All Foundation, and Teach for America — that are eligible for grants of up to $50 million to scale-up education programs with proven track records. Fifteen applicants are eligible for grants of up to $30 million to cultivate programs with emerging evidence of success, and thirty are eligible for grants of up to $5 million for the development of promising ideas. The finalists will focus on projects in two hundred and fifty communities in more than forty-two states and two territories.

Two Pennsylvania education organizations are receiving up to $30 million in federal Recovery Act funding to further develop promising innovations in education that will benefit Pennsylvania students, acting Education Secretary Thomas E. Gluck announced. Children’s Learning Initiative, based in Philadelphia, and ASSET Inc., based in Pittsburgh, were awarded highly-competitive “validation” grants through the i3 fund to build upon programs which have shown evidence of success.

Also among the 49 winning applications are seven other organizations that will partner with Pennsylvania school districts, nonprofit organizations and institutions of higher education. Some of the school districts and communities that will benefit from these i3 funds include Easton, Homestead, Reading, Bethlehem, Carnegie, East Stroudsburg, Wrightsville, Erie City SD, Philadelphia and Harrisburg City SD. For additional information on the i3 funds and descriptions of winner initiatives, visit http://www2.ed.gov/programs/innovation/index.html

Off-Campus Community Service program

The purpose of this program is to provide grants to institutions of higher education (IHEs) participating in the Federal Work-Study Program under title IV, part C of the
Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA) to recruit and compensate students (including compensation for time spent in training and for travel) for part-time, off-campus employment directly related to community service. Under section 447(b) of the HEA, funds granted to an IHE under this program may only be used to make payments to students participating in work-study programs.

Full announcement available here.

Early Career Research Program

The Office of Science of the Department of Energy hereby invites grant applications for support under the Early Career Research Program in the following program areas: Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR); Biological and Environmental Research (BER); Basic Energy Sciences (BES), Fusion Energy Sciences (FES); High Energy Physics (HEP), and Nuclear Physics (NP). The purpose of this program is to support the development of individual research programs of outstanding scientists early in their careers and to stimulate research careers in the areas supported by the DOE Office of Science.

Expected Number of Awards: 50
Estimated Total Program Funding: $6,000,000
Deadline: Nov. 9, 2010

Math Conference and Workshop Grants

Conferences, workshops, and related events (including seasonal schools and international travel by groups) support research and training activities of the mathematical sciences community. Proposals for conferences, workshops, or conference-like activities may request funding of any amount and for durations of up to three years. Proposals under this solicitation must be submitted to the appropriate DMS programs at the deadline specified on the program webpage.

Proposals may only be submitted by the following: -Non-profit, non-academic organizations: Independent museums, observatories, research labs, professional societies and similar organizations in the U.S. associated with educational or research activities. -Universities and Colleges - Universities and two- and four-year colleges (including community colleges) accredited in, and having a campus located in the US, acting on behalf of their faculty members. Such organizations also are referred to as academic institutions.

Expected Number of Awards: 100
Estimated Total Program Funding: $4,000,000
Award Ceiling: $100,000
Award Floor: $10,000

GOALI accepting submissions

Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry (GOALI) promotes university-industry partnerships by making project funds or fellowships/traineeships available to support an eclectic mix of industry-university linkages. Special interest is focused on affording the opportunity for: Faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and students to conduct research and gain experience in an industrial setting; Industrial scientists and engineers to bring industry's perspective and integrative skills to academe; and Interdisciplinary university-industry teams to conduct research projects. This solicitation targets high-risk/high-gain research with a focus on fundamental research, new approaches to solving generic problems, development of innovative collaborative industry-university educational programs, and direct transfer of new knowledge between academe and industry. GOALI seeks to fund transformative research that lies beyond that which industry would normally fund.

Solar Energy Research Grants

[From Philanthropy News Digest] The Tucson-based Research Corporation for Science Advancement has announced three-year grants totaling more than $1.3 million to thirteen early career academic researchers working on projects related to solar energy.

The grants are the first made through RCSA's Scialog initiative, a multiyear program designed to accelerate science by funding early career scientists pursuing transformative research on crucial issues of scientific inquiry. This year, the initiative focused on solar energy because of the economic and national security implications associated with a reliable, domestic, and renewable energy supply. The initial grants also were aimed at supporting research with the potential for rapid translational application and development by the private sector, in the hope that federal and private funding will follow suit.

“Scialog Grants for Solar Energy Conversion Awarded to Researchers at 11 Universities.” Research Corporation for Science Advancement Press Release 6/17/10.

Transfer Scholarship Program

[From Philanthropy News Digest] The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation in Lansdowne, Virginia, has announced scholarships to forty community college students so that they can transfer to four-year colleges and universities to complete their bachelor's degree.

The foundation's Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship Program provides up to $30,000 a year for up to three years to exceptional community college students. Hailing from eighteen states, the scholarship recipients will attend some of the best public and private colleges and universities in the country, including Stanford, Duke, New York University, and the University of California, Berkeley. A large percentage of this year's recipients will major in the sciences and pre-medicine, with others majoring in engineering, economics, political science, natural resources, social work, education, film, and photography. Eighteen of the scholars were born outside the United States.

Youth Outdoor Employment

NEW YORK — Leaders from the U.S. Departments of Labor, Interior and Agriculture joined in New York City at the Outdoor Nation Youth Summit on June 20 to announce the launch of a $20 million federal grant opportunity and implementation of an initiative designed to help disadvantaged youth prepare for jobs in the outdoors. Through a national grant competition, funds will be awarded to enable ex-offenders ages 18 to 24 to give back to their communities through service and conservation work, while simultaneously acquiring solid employment skills. The grant competition is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2010.

The program was unveiled by Assistant Secretary Jane Oates of the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration; the U.S. Department of the Interior's Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget Rhea Suh; and U.S. Department of Agriculture Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment Harris Sherman. At the Outdoor Nation Youth Summit, administration officials conducted two "listening sessions" with the 500 youth participants in the event to hear their perspectives on the president's America's Great Outdoors Initiative and the challenges and opportunities for youth engaging in outdoor activities and pursuing employment in green jobs.

"This multi-agency partnership will allow disadvantaged youth to prepare for lucrative green jobs and outdoor careers, including federal employment with public land management agencies," said Oates. "Our joint initiative also will provide support for meaningful service projects on public lands currently experiencing a backlog."

Prior to the grant competition, the three agencies will begin their partnership by implementing a pilot program this summer to increase outdoor employment opportunities for youth. The pilot will target local workforce areas to place youth in Youth Conservation Corps and other summer employment opportunities on public lands. Some of those opportunities will include working at national parks and forests, conservation areas, historic sites and tribal lands.

The partnership provides bureaus at the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture with the ability to engage youth looking to work and learn about outdoor occupations. At the same time, local workforce areas are provided with expanded support for their worksites where youth can receive work experience, supervision and an education about natural resources, conservation and becoming good stewards of public lands and resources. For more information on Department of Labor training programs, visit http://www.doleta.gov.