Kevin Holtz, an eighth to ninth grade science teacher and member of the Greece Teachers Association, received a $2,000 Learning and Leadership Grant from the NEA Foundation to use lesson study to develop and test science activities that will make learning relevant and foster literacy skills in his students.
United Federation of Teachers members Denise Leonard, an intervention coordinator, and Livia Pantuliano, of PS 15 in Brooklyn, received a $5,000 Student Achievement Grant to fund extended puppetry workshops focusing on local history and government.
The workshops will help improve literacy and oral language skills of English language learners by linking language and content through puppetry and creative arts, focusing on Native Americans, the Revolutionary War, industrial growth, and state government.
"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 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.
The foundation awards grants to educators three times a year.
The next grant deadline is Feb. 1, 2013. For application forms and a video with step-by-step instructions on how to apply, visit www.neafoundation.org.