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Federal Grants Awarded to Improve Teaching

Archive

5/8/2006


 

Contact:
Sandy Connolly
Minnesota Office of Higher Education
(651) 259-3902

Twenty-two continuation grants totaling over $900,000 were awarded to Minnesota higher education institutions and nonprofit organizations to support improved K-12 instruction in mathematics, science, and social studies, the Office of Higher Education announced today.

"The funded programs are designed to improve student achievement through professional development activities demonstrated to be effective by scientifically-based research," said Nancy Walters, Program Manager for the Office of Higher Education. "Each of these programs has a documented track record of success."

The grants to improve teacher quality through higher education - totaling $909,140 - were made available with federal funding from the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 targeted specifically to the Improving Teacher Quality program. This year, continuation grants were awarded to 22 of the 2004 grantees who had successfully met first- and second-year objectives and wanted to conduct a third year of program activities. With the funds designed for higher education under this initiative, each state higher education agency provides competitive grants to higher education partnerships that include one or more high-needs school districts.

In total, Minnesota received $38 million for 2005-2006 under the federal Improving Teacher Quality Program. The Minnesota Department of Education administers the larger portion of these funds for state and district-level teacher quality efforts.

  • University of Minnesota received seven grants totaling $312,756;

  • Bemidji State University received five grants totaling $200,838;

  • The Minnesota Council on Economic Education received three grants totaling $118,512;

  • Macalester College received two grants totaling $88,891;

  • The College of St. Scholastica received a grant of $35,116;

  • Augsburg College received a grant of $39,600;

  • St. Cloud State University received a grant of $36,027;

  • Century College received a grant of $36,611; and

  • Communities for Responsible Energy/Environment Demonstration received a grant of $40,789.

As a state formula grant program, the federal award makes funds available to state education agencies, local school districts, and state agencies for higher education to support and help shape state and local activities to improve teacher quality. The purpose of the federal funding is continued student achievement and ensuring that all teachers of core academic subjects are highly qualified by the end of the 2006-2007 academic year.

The grants awarded from the Office of Higher Education for the Improving Teacher Quality Program support sustained in-service programs in mathematics, science, and social studies for K-12 teachers and for highly-qualified paraprofessionals in mathematics. Funded projects will work with schools having the greatest need to improve student achievement and teachers in need of licensure by the Minnesota Board of Teaching.

List of projects funded for the fourth year under the Improving Teacher Quality Program of the No Child Left Behind Act
Project DescriptionGrant Amount
I. In-service Projects for Teachers in Mathematics
Algebraic Habits of Mind
Macalester College
$43,891
Mathematics Within
University of Minnesota
$43,451
Building Discrete Mathematics and Patterns & Functions with Elementary and Middle School Teachers
Bemidji State University
$44,239
Improving Teacher Quality in K-8 Geometry
Bemidji State University
$47,337
II. In-service Mathematics Projects for Teachers and Highly-Qualified Paraprofessionals
Foundations of Arithmetic I
Bemidji State University
$30,834
Foundations of Arithmetic II
Bemidji State University
$30,843
III. In-service Projects for Teachers in Science
Monarchs & More: Insect Ecology for Teachers
University of Minnesota
$47,982
Schoolyards, Science and Sustainability: Field Ecology for Teachers
University of Minnesota
$45,090
Investigative Plant Biology for Elementary Teachers
University of Minnesota
$45,116
Investigating Molecular Biology and Biotechnology
University of Minnesota
$47,010
Teaching Science through Examples from Renewable Materials such as Paper, Wood, and their Recycling
University of Minnesota
$39,085
Earth Science Systems for Teachers
Century College
$36,611
A Hybrid On-line Licensure Program for Physics & Chemistry
Bemidji State University
$47,585
Inquiring Minds: 2006 Itasca Field Biology
University of Minnesota
$45,022
Project IDEA - Inquiry into Diet, Exercise, and Anatomy
St. Cloud State University
$36,027
Discovering Science on the Range in the Field of Energy: Part III
CREED Project
$40,789
IV. In-service Projects for Teachers in Social Studies
Imagining History
The College of St. Scholastica
$35,116
Authentic Pedagogy for Integrating Reading into the State Standards for Geography
Macalester College
$45,000
Using Children's Literature to Teach Economics
MN Council on Economic Education
$34,252
Educator Preparation for Economics Academic Standards
MN Council on Economic Education
$48,000
Enhancing Social Studies Curricula with Economics
MN Council on Economic Education
$36,260
Using Paideia Seminars in Social Studies
Augsburg College
$39,600

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