Education Funding Watch

Foundation Center: Helping grantseekers succeed.

June 10, 2009

In this issue of Education Funding Watch, the Foundation Center's newsletter devoted to education, you'll read about an area where school systems consistently get poor marks — and the repercussions of that failure. You'll also find links to other education-related news, resources, funding opportunities for individuals and organizations, and job listings. Education Funding Watch is available exclusively to visitors who register at the Foundation Center's Web site.

U.S. Schools Failing to Assess Teacher Effectiveness, Report Finds

The nation's schools are failing to adequately assess teacher effectiveness, resulting in a system in which excellent teaching goes unrecognized, hard-working teachers who could improve are ignored, and poor performance goes unaddressed, a new report from the New Teacher Project finds. Funded primarily by the Robertson, Gates, and Joyce foundations, the report, The Widget Effect: Our National Failure to Acknowledge and Act on Differences in Teacher Effectiveness (48 pages, PDF), found that the evaluation systems used by most U.S. school districts do not distinguish between teaching that is great, good, fair, and poor. As a result, teachers are treated as equivalent, interchangeable parts — "widgets." Indeed, 94 percent of teachers in districts with more than two performance ratings received one of the top two ratings, while less than 1 percent of teachers received unsatisfactory ratings, even in schools where students failed to meet basic academic standards. Read the article»

Recent Education News from Philanthropy News Digest

'Expectations Gap' May Be Contributing Factor in Dropout Crisis, Report Finds
A new study by Civic Enterprises finds that many educators do not believe students at risk of dropping out would work harder if more were demanded of them, revealing an "expectations gap" that could be a barrier to closing the achievement gap....
Posted: 6/10/09

College Completion Rates Vary Widely Across Nation
The report from the American Enterprise Institute found that at the least competitive institutions the average six-year graduation rate was 35 percent, compared to 88 percent at the most competitive institutions....
Posted: 6/08/09

Harvard Receives $1.5 Million to Endow Chair in Gay Studies
The gift from the Harvard Gay & Lesbian Caucus will establish the F.O. Matthiessen Visiting Professorship of Gender and Sexuality in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, which will invite leading scholars in the field to campus to teach for a semester....
Posted: 6/06/09

Carnegie, Gates, Hewlett Foundations Commit $2.5 Million to Boost Collegiate Academic Performance
Managed by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, the funds will be used to support research on strategies designed to improve academic achievement among college students, especially those least prepared for higher education....
Posted: 6/03/09

More education news...

Funding Opportunities

Community Foundation for the National Capital Region Invites Applications for Collaborative for Education Organizing
One-year grants of up to $100,000 will be awarded to nonprofits working to organize and mobilize parents of District of Columbia public school students to promote systemic reform and increase graduation rates....
Deadline: 6/24/09

Applications Invited for National Association of Elementary School Principals/MetLife Foundation Sharing the Dream Grants
Grants of $3,000 each will be awarded to elementary and middle school principals in the United States and its territories to support programs that increase local community interest in and involvement with the school....
Deadline: 7/08/09

National Gardening Association Invites Applications for 2009 Hooked on Hydroponics Education Grants
Elementary and middle schools will receive equipment and learning materials for hydroponic gardening projects that involve at least fifteen students between the ages of 6 and 18 during the 2010 school year....
Deadline: 9/18/09

High School Students Invited to Submit Entries for Green Your School Contest
Awards of up to $5,000 will be given to high schools whose students have designed projects to improve, restore, beautify, or conserve their school environment....
Deadline: 10/09/09

CHS Foundation Offers Mini-Grants to College Agriculture Clubs
Grants of up to $1,000 each will be awarded to agriculture-related college clubs or organizations providing leadership and professional development programs....
Deadline: Open

More requests for proposals...

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Education Funding Watch is mailed the second Wednesday of the month to more than 82,000 subscribers with a stated interest in education. For information about our advertising rates, contact Regina Mahone at (212) 807-2499 or rnm@foundationcenter.org.

Funding for Education Month Is in Full Swing!

In June, the Foundation Center is the "go to" place for information about how and where to get funding for your education, research, or organization. The Focus on Funding for Education page of our Web site offers listings of webinars, interactive maps, podcasts, reports, tutorials, grant guides, and calendars for
on-site workshops, panels, and other special events taking place in Atlanta, Cleveland, New York,
San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.

The Foundation Center Thanks Our National Supporter of Funding for Education Month,
Lumina Foundation
for Education

The Casey Connection

The Annie
E. Casey Foundation has a long history of supporting programs that help low-income parents send their children to high-quality schools. In this podcast, Dr. Bruno Manno, who manages Casey's education grants, discusses the key role that schools play in advancing the foundation's efforts to improve outcomes for families and children.

Putting Stimulus Funds
to Best Use

To help ensure that federal economic stimulus funds are not wasted, the New America Foundation has published an issue brief detailing how states and school districts can best utilize stimulus funds to institute lasting reforms in public education systems. The brief, Building a Solid Foundation: How States and School Districts Can Use Federal Stimulus Funds to Support Proficiency by Third Grade, recommends investing stimulus funds in reforms for students in preschool through third grade to give kids a solid foundation of math, literacy, and social/emotional skills at an early age.

Job Opportunities

Assistant Coordinator, Graduate School of Education, Concentration in Fieldwork Placement and Special Events Management
Bank Street College of Education
New York, New York
Posted: 6/05/09

Research Assistant
Thomas B. Fordham Institute
Washington, D.C.
Posted: 6/04/09

Executive Director, Bridges to the Future Program
United Way of
Genesee County
Flint, Michigan
Posted: 6/01/09

More job opportunities...

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