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Triangle Coalition Electronic Bulletin
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This Week's Topics:
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| Last week in Hong Kong, teachers were recognized for their creativity and innovation in the classroom as part of Microsoft's 2008 Worldwide Innovative Teachers Forum (ITF). Now in its fourth year, the Worldwide ITF rewards outstanding teachers who practice exceptional 21st century learning and incorporate the creative use of technology in their classrooms. At the forum, a panel of distinguished education leaders from around the world selected a handful of educators as Innovative Teachers of the Year for creating solutions that improve and extend the way students learn using technology. "It is an inspiration to see teachers from 64 countries around the world collaborate together and show how they are using technology in innovative ways to change the way their students learn," said Ralph Young, vice president of Worldwide Public Sector at Microsoft, during the ITF awards ceremony. "At the heart of the Innovative Teachers Forum is the belief that teachers from all over the world are transforming education and using innovative learning methods to empower their students and prepare them for the 21st century." The ITF is part of Microsoft's Partners in Learning program, a global initiative under the Unlimited Potential commitment designed to help increase technology access for schools, foster innovative approaches to education, and provide educators with the tools to manage and implement change. Since its inception in 2003, the Partners in Learning program has reached more than 123 million teachers and students in 103 countries. With five years of continued financial support so far, Microsoft's 10-year investment in the initiative is nearly $500 million (U.S.), underscoring the company's commitment to making technology more relevant and accessible for everyone through affordable licensing programs, training, and partnerships. More information about the Innovative Teachers Forum is available online. . |
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| More students than ever before are receiving Pell Grants to help pay for college and that number is on the rise, according to a new report released recently by the College Board. The study also shows that, with college costs rising, students are continuing to access the federal student loans for which they are eligible. Over the past year, the average tuition and fees for in-state students at four-year public colleges and universities increased by 6.4 percent to $6,585 for the 2008-2009 school year. "With college costs still rising and families facing growing uncertainty in today's economy, federal student aid is more important than ever," said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. "This study reinforces that these efforts are critically needed to help make college more affordable and accessible for students and their families. "This report also shows that the Pell Grant scholarship -- which Congress has significantly boosted in the past two years -- is playing an increasingly important role in expanding college access, especially for low- and middle-income students. As we work to get our economy back on the road to recovery, it is vital to make sure that students are aware of all their student aid options and are fully maximizing their federal student loans before turning to more expensive private loans." According to the report, the number of students receiving almost all federal grants and loans have increased over the last ten years and the number of students receiving Pell Grant scholarships has increased from 3.7 million in 1997-98 to 5.4 million in 2007-2008. Last year, Congress enacted The College Cost Reduction and Access Act, which provides the largest increase in student financial aid since the GI bill. The law increases the maximum Pell Grant scholarship by more than $1,000, cuts interest rates on need-based student loans in half, creates income based repayment programs for students graduating with college debt and gives loan forgiveness incentive programs for public service workers. For more information, click here. Congress also recently enacted The Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act to ensure that students and families can continue to have access to all the federal college loans they are eligible for. For more information, click here. In August, Congress enacted the Higher Education Opportunity Act, the first reauthorization of the nation's primary higher education laws in a decade. The law addresses rising college tuition prices, makes textbook costs more manageable, simplifies the federal student aid application process, makes the Pell Grant scholarship available year-round for the first time, provides new consumer protections for federal and private student loan borrowers, and much more. For more information, click here. . |
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The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently announced it will provide up to an estimated $17 million to fund 16 Science Education Partnership Awards (SEPAs). Led by the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) -- a part of the NIH -- SEPAs provide two to five years of support to stimulate scientific curiosity and encourage hands-on science education activities. By supporting collaboration among scientists, educators, and community organizations, SEPA projects help improve public understanding of NIH-funded medical research and encourage young people to choose science as a career path. SEPA projects advance science and health education through ways such as interactive traveling exhibits, 3-D animated lessons, virtual and mobile labs, and online teaching curricula. "Now in its 18th year, the SEPA program reaches tens of thousands annually in more than 40 states, Puerto Rico, and about 15 American Indian communities," said NCRR Director Barbara M. Alving, M.D. "Projects include innovative and interactive methods that help explain the complexities of front page health and science topics, such as the role of diet and physical activity in health. Through these collaborations, students gain skills and engage their imaginations as they learn about the mysteries of disease, how to stay healthy and perhaps set a course for their future careers." . |
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| Bayer Corporation will host a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) Education Diversity Forum in December, the second such forum the company has held in the last three years. The purpose of the forum is to encourage and help business executives from the various STEM industries -- biotechnology, information technology, engineering, and beyond -- to get involved and support STEM education programs in order to build a strong and diverse national STEM pipeline, the feeder for our future workforce. The forum, part of Bayer's award-winning Making Science Make Sense initiative, will be held on Thursday, December 11, 2008, at the Hotel Nikko in San Francisco. Bayer is holding the forum as a public service; there is no charge to attend. Titled "Bridging the Diversity Gap: Introducing STEM Industries to K-12 Best Practice Programs," the forum is an outgrowth of a recent survey commissioned by Bayer Corporation. The survey found wide agreement among the Fortune 1000 STEM CEOs polled that they and their companies have a responsibility to support pre-college, STEM-education programs that are developing the next generation of innovators, particularly those who have traditionally been underrepresented in STEM. Thus, the forum will showcase for these executives an array of best practice elementary and secondary education programs that are helping all students -- especially girls, African-Americans, American Indians, and Hispanics -- achieve in STEM subjects. In addition, the forum will offer executives practical advice about creating their own business-education partnerships. They will be urged to support these and/or other exemplary programs that are closing achievement gaps by helping them to scale-up or replicate them in their local communities. Dr. Mae C. Jemison will act as moderator. In addition to serving as Bayer's longtime national Making Science Make Sense spokesperson, she is the nation's first African-American female astronaut, a chemical engineer, a physician, and the CEO of an emerging STEM company. She will lead the forum's two morning panels, Best Practice Elementary STEM Education Programs and Best Practice Secondary STEM Education Programs, and participate in an afternoon panel about developing an action plan for moving STEM education forward and creating industry-education partnerships. The forum and the 2009 publication of a second volume of Planting the Seeds for a Diverse U.S. STEM Pipeline: A Compendium of Best Practice K-12 STEM Education Programs are both designed to assist companies in their efforts to foster a diverse STEM pipeline and bring more women, African-Americans, American Indians, and Hispanics into STEM fields. More details are at www.BayerUS.com/MSMS. . |
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Little do they know, but up to 80 of America's elementary educators are about to be surprised with one of education's most prestigious and lucrative national honors, the $25,000 Milken Educator Award. This year marks the 22nd year the Milken Family Foundation (MFF) will travel across the country to recognize and reward excellence in education with public acclaim and up to $2 million in unrestricted cash prizes. The awards were conceived by Lowell Milken, Foundation chairman and co-founder, to recognize the importance of outstanding educators and encourage talented young people to enter teaching. Unlike most teaching awards, the Milken Educator Awards have no formal nomination or application process. Each year exceptional teachers, principals, and specialists -- recommended without their knowledge by a blue-ribbon panel appointed by each state's department of education -- are stunned with the news of their awards. The announcements are made during surprise schoolwide assemblies overflowing with cheering students, proud colleagues, and a host of dignitaries and media. . |
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TCEB Sponsors
3M 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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