Grants That Make a Difference

BellSouth has announced a $10 million, five-year initiative designed to assist teachers across the company's nine-state territory with professional development, recruitment and retention.

In the BellSouth Quality in the Classroom Teaching Initiative, the company is partnering with local education institutions and nonprofit organizations to develop programs that are customized to meet the needs of the local communities. In addition to funding, a key component of the initiative is the engagement of hundreds of BellSouth volunteers to assist with the implementation of local programs.

Professional development grants will focus on teacher preparation and developing teachers' skills and content knowledge in math, science and technology. The recruitment and retention grants will focus on supporting new teachers and improving working conditions.

"It is vital that the first year for a new teacher is productive and rewarding," said BellSouth CEO Duane Ackerman. "If the teaching experience is negative in that first year, it is extremely likely that teacher will not be in the classroom within five years."

Several states will roll out their programs by year's end:

• Mississippi (Partner: Mississippi Department of Education) - Grant to facilitate the training of Mississippi's classroom teachers in the effective integration of technology into their existing classroom instruction so that students will increase their learning and achievement.
• Kentucky (Partner: Louisville Science Center) - Focuses on assisting elementary and middle school teachers with science content qualifications. Program will include workshops that center on the delivery of inquiry-based learning through video conferencing and hands-on instruction in the Louisville Science Center's traveling exhibit THE WORLD WE CREATE.
• North Carolina (Partner: North Carolina Business Committee for Education) - Grant will facilitate the building of a grassroots model to recruit and retain high-quality teachers in North Carolina by enhancing communities' awareness and capacity to improve working conditions for teachers. A series of toolkits will be developed for communities to use that contain practical, proven best practices for improving working conditions for teachers. The toolkits, in electronic and hard copy format, will be built from findings from the Teacher Working Conditions statewide survey, which identifies the specific issues and concerns of teachers in the state.
• South Carolina (Partner: South Carolina's Department of Education and USC College of Engineering) - Grant will assist teachers in developing content knowledge in math and science through a comprehensive, intensive training program that prepares them to use cutting edge technology. S.C.'s FIRST Lego League State Tournament and the FIRST Regional Robotics Competition will motivate students to pursue opportunities in science, technology and engineering.
• Alabama (Partner: Samford University School of Education) - Grant will improve teaching quality, teacher retention and student achievement by supporting new teachers in 5-8 high-need elementary schools in the Birmingham City and Fairfield School Systems. Professional development and teacher assessments will be strengthened, an induction and mentoring program established and the community will be engaged to help ensure that new teachers are fully supported in their work.
• Tennessee (Partner: Tennessee Tomorrow) - Using the grant as a catalyst, Tennessee Tomorrow will create and convene a statewide reform group, the Education Design Council (EDC). The EDC will enhance existing state efforts by adding a proven teacher induction program using mentors to increase the teacher retention rate of all the schools involved. Mini grants will be developed and awarded to participating school districts. The EDC will convene regularly to share learnings to help facilitate improving the overall working conditions for the teachers in Tennessee.