Demystify Technology for Parents
The National Center for Family Literacy’s Verizon Tech Savvy Awards recognize exemplary programs that demystify technology for parents and enable them to better guide their children in the use of new media. This awards program is designed to assist grassroots, community-based nonprofit organizations, libraries and schools to incorporate information communications technology literacy as a component and enhancement of literacy. Four regional awards of $5,000 each and one national award of $25,000 will be presented annually.
Deadline: January 12, 2007
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Improve After-School Neighborhood Programs
Ameriquest Mortgage Company’s Create Your Legacy grant program encourages young people to develop projects to improve their after-school program and neighborhood. For 2007, after-school programs in Arizona, California and Illinois will be considered. The programs should offer youth services that emphasize leadership training, mentoring, community service, academic enrichment or the arts.
Deadline: January 15, 2007
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Provide an Anonymous Tip Line
SchoolSpan is offering a Safe Schools Grant that provides its Anonymous Alert tip line service free of charge to school districts. SchoolSpan Anonymous Alert is a Web-based module that enables anyone in the school community to send an anonymous message to school officials, warning them of drugs, guns, violence, unusual student behavior, unauthorized visitors or any potential student crisis that warrants immediate attention. Information is immediately relayed via email directly to the school principal or district administrator for proper action. School districts in the United States and Canada are eligible for the award, valued at $500.
Deadline: January 15, 2007
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Join the growing list of teachers enjoying the eBookDestination Rewards Program. On the first day of each month, a digital coupon (representing 5 percent of your total purchases in the previous month) will be added to your shopping cart. You’ll then be notified via email of the presence (and amount) of this coupon.

There’s no application to complete, no points to collect, no cards to carry, no codes to enter and (most important) no fees to pay. Quite simply, you are repaid for your loyalty with a 5 percent credit toward future purchases. It’s as easy as that!

Browse the eBookstore now! You’ll receive an automatic discount on some 3,000 ebook titles, many of which are bundled with downloadable audio MP3 files, from major educational publishers. Plus, there’s always a selection of the most popular titles on sale!

Create a Winning Package Design
The H. J. Heinz Co. is sponsoring a contest for young artists, in which winners’ designs will be on single-serving Heinz Ketchup packets for 2007. Students in grades 1–12 are eligible for the award, which includes $750 for art supplies and $750 worth of ketchup for the winner’s school.
Deadline: December 31, 2006
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Join the Math Talent Search
The USA Mathematical Talent Search (USAMTS) is a free mathematics competition open to all United States middle and high school students. As opposed to most mathematics competitions, the USAMTS allows students a full month to work out their solutions. Carefully written justifications are required for each problem. The problems range in difficulty from being within the reach of most high school students to challenging the best students in the nation. Each year the USAMTS consists of four rounds, each round featuring five problems, which are published on the USAMTS site at least four weeks before solutions are due. Students are asked to submit solutions to at least two of the problems in each round. Students’ solutions are graded by mathematicians, and comments are returned to students. The goal is to help all students develop their problem-solving skills, improve their technical writing abilities and mature mathematically while having fun. Click below for more information. Also join the mailing list to receive USAMTS news.
Deadline: January 8, 2007 for next round
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Recognize Excellent Classroom Technology Programs
The Astronauts Memorial Foundation’s Alan Shepard Technology in Education Award recognizes excellence in the development and delivery of technology programs in the classroom with students, or in the professional development of teachers in the school or district. K–12 educators and district-level personnel in the field of educational technology are eligible for the award. Winners will be recognized at the awards ceremony at the 23rd National Space Symposium.
Deadline: January 31, 2007
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Encourage Civic Learning
Are you educating students for democracy? Publicize your work and share ideas with other educators on Civic Learning Online, a free database of civic learning resources. Submit your example of whole schools or districts embracing their civic mission, or of individual classroom and community civic learning practices that focus on instruction in government, history, law or democracy; guided discussion of current events; student participation in governance; or simulations of democratic processes or other civic learning practices.
Click Here to Share Ideas

Help Students Living with HIV/AIDS
In conjunction with World AIDS Day, the National School Boards Association (NSBA) released Living with HIV/AIDS: Students Tell Their Stories of Stigma, Courage, and Resilience. In addition to firsthand accounts of children and their parents who are living with HIV and AIDS, the book also includes recommendations for school officials and personnel as they reflect on the policies and procedures in place in their districts. Living with HIV/AIDS serves as a resource, not merely for school district officials, but also for parents, teachers and students. The book is available for purchase or as a free downloadable PDF on the NSBA Web site.
Click Here to Download Free Book

Get free unlimited online access to all the print content in The Big Deal Book for Educators of Struggling Students, Middle School Through High School and The Big Deal Book of Technology for K–12 Educators. Explore the many opportunities to fund your special programs, access timely reports and articles, locate free and inexpensive resources and identify engaging interactive Web sites. Many of the offerings will help you meet the needs of students with disabilities and English language learners.

Develop Map-Reading Skills
The U.S. Geological Survey helps you develop students’ understanding of maps with its “What Do Maps Show” lessons. Choose from four different lessons, including a map introduction, how to read maps, what you can learn from them, and topographical maps. In addition, a downloadable Teacher’s Guide will help you get started.
Click Here to Access Free Lessons

Plus: A free downloadable set of four colorful and educational bookmarks, each with a theme (geology, biology, geography and hydrology), opens windows to the Earth. The backside of each bookmark contains important terminologies that are related to the theme and URLs to where you may find more helpful information.
Click Here to Download Free Bookmarks

Showcasing Technology Innovations
The National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) has unveiled a new exhibit at its Capitol Hill headquarters to showcase the wide array of interactive video, high-speed Internet and digital voice products and services that cable operators are now, or soon will be, providing to millions of consumers. Called cableINNOVATES, the hands-on display is set up to resemble the elements of a fully integrated “broadband home.”
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Connecting with Service-Learning Leaders
Don’t miss The National Service-Learning Conference, Beyond Borders, Beyond Boundaries, March 28–31, 2007, in New Mexico. Originating in 1989, The National Service-Learning Conference is the largest gathering of youth and adults involved in the service-learning movement. In 2006, it drew nearly 3,000 attendees from across the United States and 12 other countries. The conference connects participants with service-learning leaders through three days of plenary sessions, featured forums and service projects. It also provides access to new ideas and networking opportunities, with more than 200 workshops.
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Assessing Science Learning
A majority of fourth- and eighth-grade students in nine of 10 major U.S. cities surveyed lacked the appropriate skills and reasoning to learn science, read charts or follow experiments, according to a study of the 2005 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) science test scores. The study also revealed that urban students’ performance on the science test trailed national averages by significant margins.
Click Here to Access Study Results

Highlighting Conditions of Education
The U.S. Department of Education’s The Condition of Education 2000–2006 provides a portrait of public education via several indicators, including demographics, school crime and student progress, among others. Among the report’s highlights: Half of students in grades 3–12 had parents who reported in 2003 they were “very satisfied” with their child’s school; theft and violent school crime declined by 53 percent and 42 percent respectively, from 1992 through 2003; and Hispanic students accounted for 19 percent of public school enrollment in 2004, compared with 6 percent in 1992.
Click Here to Access Full Report

Using Online Sources
We often think of today’s students as technology-savvy—and while that might be true, to a certain extent, when it comes to using hardware and software devices, a recently published report shows how little know-how students display when it comes to information literacy, or the ability to use technology to find the information they’re looking for. The 2006 ICT Literacy Assessment Preliminary Report, from Princeton, New Jersey–based ETS, found that the majority of high school and college students lack the proper critical thinking skills when it comes to researching online and using sources.
Click Here to Download Full Report

Get the Inside Scoop
Leanna Landsmann, a nationally recognized education writer and editor, writes a weekly column for parents, A+ Advice, How to Help Your Child Succeed in School. Distributed by United Feature Syndicate, the column appears in daily newspapers across the nation. Read the weekly column online, search the archives and get A+ advice in response to your own questions!
Click Here to Visit Web Site

Catch the Sudoku Craze
Caught up in the current Sudoku craze? This site offers a hefty supply of puzzles. Work independently or compete head to head against other registered users. There are four levels of difficulty. The site will time you (although there’s a Pause button) and, if you wish, “validate” your answers and highlight any mistakes. You don’t have to sign in to use the site—unless you want your scores recorded.
Click Here to Visit Web Site

Learn About the European Union
What do your students know about Europe? The European Union’s Web site for youth has informative, up-to-date resources that are useful for teachers as well. Booklets, comic books and images are all free. For example, EuropaGo is full of games and other activities about Europe and the European Union.
Click Here to Visit Web Site

Plus: Europocket Television, addressed especially to young people, is a multimedia platform, web-TV with open access to 3G phone and podcasts, which began broadcasting on September 4, 2006 in English, French and Spanish. Daily updates are presented on Europe, the European Union and its institutions, and on events, competitions, courses and grants. Youth can also provide input by submitting written articles and videos.
Click Here to Visit Web Site