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Triangle Coalition Electronic Bulletin
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This Week's Topics:
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| Because of his innovative approach, community focus, and teamwork with other teachers, Michael Geisen was named 2008 National Teacher of the Year by President Bush at a White House ceremony on April 30, 2008. Geisen, a science teacher at Crook County Middle School in Prineville, Oregon, is the 58th National Teacher of the Year. He will begin a year as a full-time national and international spokesperson for education on June 1, 2008. Also recognized at this event were the 2008 state teachers of the year. The National Teacher of the Year Program, sponsored by the ING Foundation, is a project of Triangle Coalition member, the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). CCSSO is a nationwide, nonprofit organization of public officials who head departments of elementary and secondary education in the states, the District of Columbia, the Department of Defense Education Activity, and five U.S. extra-state jurisdictions. "Geisen is exactly the type of educator we want to acknowledge. He believes in and encourages collaboration between and among teachers and school leaders as he knows this brings the right focus on the student," said Gene Wilhoit, executive director of CCSSO. According to Geisen, "When students are interested, they start to ask real questions. And when they ask questions, they're on their way to becoming great scientists and learners. This enthusiasm becomes contagious, and kids spread it around our building and take it home to their families. It doesn't happen every day for every child, but it happens frequently enough to call it a pattern. Even the non-mathematical/non-scientific kids get into it when creativity and science fuse together." The other 2008 National Teacher of the Year finalists are Lewis Chappelear, an engineering and design teacher at James Monroe High School in North Hills, CA; June Teisan, a science teacher at Harper Woods Secondary School in Harper Woods, MI; and Thomas R. Smigiel, Jr., a teen leadership and science teacher at Norview High School in Norfolk, VA. The National Teacher of the Year Program focuses public attention on teaching excellence and is the oldest and most prestigious awards program for teachers. State teachers of the year are selected on the basis of nominations by students, teachers, principals, and school district administrators throughout the states. Applications are then submitted to CCSSO, where the national selection committee reviews the data on each state candidate and selects the four finalists. The selection committee then personally interviews each finalist before naming the National Teacher of the Year. Find out more at www.ccsso.org/ntoy. . |
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The Toshiba/National Science Teachers Association ExploraVision Awards Program, one of the world's largest K-12 science and technology competitions, has announced its National Winners for 2008. Illustrating the importance that today's young people place on environmental issues, three out of this year's four First Prize winner teams proposed future technologies that could help solve some of the world's most pressing energy and environmental pollution problems. Other winners proposed ingenious treatments for life-threatening illnesses, an innovative preventative measure to the problem of childhood obesity, and even a device to make life easier for household pets and their owners. For their projects, student teams researched existing technologies to conceptualize future advancements in the fields of nanotechnology, bioplastics, genetic engineering, and GPS satellite systems. Many of the teams collaborated with scientific experts across the country while compiling their research. This year, ExploraVision received 4,527 team entries representing the participation of 14,042 students from across the US and Canada. Students on each of the four first-place ExploraVision teams will each receive a US Savings Bond valued at $10,000 at maturity that may be used to offset increasing education costs. Students on second-place teams will receive a US Savings Bond valued at $5,000 at maturity. . |
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| A new report from the National Center for Education Statistics contains basic revenue and expenditure data, by state, for public elementary and secondary education for school year 2005-06. It also contains state-level data on revenues by source and expenditures by function, including expenditures per pupil. According to "Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education: School Year 2005-06:" * Approximately $520.6 billion was collected in revenues for public elementary and secondary education in the 50 states and the District of Columbia in fiscal year 2006. * Current expenditures per pupil for public elementary and secondary education were $9,154. Adjusting for inflation, current expenditures per pupil have grown 25.1 percent since FY 1995 and 51.0 percent since FY 1985. * In FY 06, $274.2 billion was spent on instruction. This includes spending on salaries and benefits for teachers and teacher aides, classroom supplies and services, and other activities. * Looking at per pupil current expenditures for public elementary and secondary education in FY 06, instruction expenditures ranged from $10,109 in New York to $3,453 in Utah. * Instruction accounted for 61.0 percent of all current expenditures for public elementary and secondary education in FY 06. * Total expenditures for public elementary and secondary education and other related programs were $528.7 billion in FY 06. . |
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The latest results from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Math and Science Partnership (MSP) program show not only improved proficiency among all elementary and middle school students, but also a closing of the achievement gaps between both African-American and Hispanic students and white students in elementary school math, and between African-American and white students in elementary and middle-school science. Since 2002, the MSP program has supported institutions of higher education and K-12 school systems in partnering higher education faculty from science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines with K-12 teachers. Through the program, STEM faculty provide professional development and mentoring to math and science teachers to deepen their content knowledge in their field of expertise--all with the goal of better preparing students in these subjects. The MSP program currently supports 52 such partnerships around the country that unite some 150 institutions of higher education with more than 700 school districts, including more than 5,200 schools in 30 states and Puerto Rico. More than 70 businesses, numerous state departments of education, science museums, and community organizations are also partners. . |
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| The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced that Santa Monica High School from Santa Monica, CA is the winner of the 2008 DOE National Science Bowl. Santa Monica High School beat Mira Loma High School from Sacramento, CA in the championship match in early May at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC. Teams representing 67 high schools from across the United States competed in the National Finals. "The National Science Bowl is more than just an academic contest," said U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman. "It's an important part of the effort to reinvigorate science in America, and it is my hope that these young competitors will help raise awareness of the great need to support scientific education and inspire students across the nation to pursue this discipline." The DOE National Science Bowl is the only science competition in the United States sponsored by a federal agency. DOE created the National Science Bowl in 1991 to encourage high school students to excel in mathematics and science and to pursue careers in these fields. DOE supports mathematics and science education to help provide a technically trained and diverse workforce for the nation. More than 130,000 students have participated in the National Science Bowl throughout its 18 year history. More information about the DOE National Science Bowl is online. . |
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TCEB Sponsors
To find out how your organization can sponsor the TCEB or support the Triangle Coalition in other ways, visit www.trianglecoalition.org/support.htm __________________________________________________________________________ |
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