The Schools Foundation Educators Institute Awards $1500 in Scholarships to Three Area Teachers
From among 22 applicants, three public school teachers in the Huntsville and
Madison County school districts have been awarded Excellence in Education scholarships totaling $1,500 by The Schools Foundation. The 2011 teacher scholarships are a part of The Schools Foundation's ongoing effort to encourage professional development and assist local educators defray the cost of graduate study. The Foundation partners with companies and individuals to provide these scholarships each year. Scott McLain, President of The Schools Foundation said, "Partnerships with businesses, community leaders, and other individuals make it possible for The Schools Foundation to support these teachers in their professional development."
The District 19 Scholarship, reserved for teachers in a Title I school, was given to Elizabeth Parker, a Language Arts teacher who teaches at Sparkman Middle School. The Schools Foundation is pleased to partner with Rep. Laura Hall in support of graduate work through this scholarship. Elizabeth said in her application, "My graduate work is designed to not only impact my classroom, but also students beyond my four walls. This provides a better, more positive learning environment for all students."
The Jane K. Lowe Scholarship for National Board Certification, was awarded to
Jennifer Holden from Grissom High School. This scholarship is awarded to a deserving teacher who is seeking or renewing National Board Certification. "National Board Certification has provided me an opportunity to think systematically about my teaching practice. Vigorous reflection and self-assessment of my teaching practices have resulted in higher student achievement and more effective classroom instruction," said Jennifer.
The Lynn Brown Scholarship, an award set aside a deserving kindergarten teacher with less than three years of teaching experience who is currently pursuing a graduate degree, was awarded to Michael Foster. Michael teaches special education classes at Endeavor Elementary School. Michael said, "My graduate research will bring an improvement in the way that beginning reading teachers can teach reading. It will be significant because it will develop an efficient and readily available, teacher friendly process to compile word lists from current books that the students themselves are reading."
Jennifer Holden, Grissom High School Elizabeth Parker, Sparkman Middle School
Michael Foster, Endeavor Elementary School
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The Schools Foundation is a not-for-profit local education foundation in Huntsville, Alabama. The Foundation supports all three public school systems in Madison County, Alabama: Huntsville City Schools, Madison County Schools and Madison City Schools. The Foundation solicits corporate contributions, individual donations and grant funds to support a variety of programs including scholarships, teacher grants, staff development, technology deployment, and other programs that directly benefit students and enhance educational opportunities in the community's three public school systems. Foundation funds are distributed equitably to the three school districts based on student enrollment records. The Educators Institute, formed in 2008, operates within the Foundation to oversee the development, planning and implementation of initiatives that support the public school systems, to implement and collaborate on strategies that maximize the resources and opportunities within the school systems, and to identify and develop partnerships with local, state, and national organizations that want to support public education and its programs.
The Schools Foundation office is located at in the Hotel Russell Erskine at 115 West Clinton Avenue, Huntsville, AL. For more information, call 256.503.3213, e-mail
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or visit www.theschoolsfoundation.org.
