GRANTS BOOST INNOVATIVE TEACHING IDEAS
Miami Herald, The (FL) - Wednesday, February 2, 2000
Author: ANABELLE de GALE, adegale@herald.com
Lisette Camps' students attend a public school , but private money will enable them to speak on line to NASA engineers, build models of the Global Surveyor spacecraft and plan a mission to Mars.
The Kinloch Park Elementary School teacher is one of 39 Miami-Dade public school teachers whose innovative ideas to liven up their lessons have earned them a minigrant from the Education Fund.
Camps and the other teachers were presented Tuesday night with their grants - totaling more than $20,000 - at the Wyndham Hotel in Miami.
Since 1985, the fund has searched for clever teachers in the public school system and awarded them with cash grants between $250 and $850. The money allows the teachers to implement their plans.
Ideas ranged from painting a ceramic mural on a wall at school to opening a school bookstore with donated books to engineering remote-controlled robots.
``The grant program is meant to design, shape and implement initiatives that encourage private sector involvement in public school improvement,'' said Roger Cuevas, Miami-Dade Public Schools superintendent.
Teachers say the hands-on approach to teaching inspires students who are not so keen on the traditional way of learning.
``So many times teachers are given a textbook, but face it, textbooks are not interactive,'' said Linda Lecht, the fund's vice president. ``Who says learning can't be fun?''
The innovative teaching styles are welcomed in Dade County, where teachers and school administrators are scrambling to find different ways of educating children in crowded classrooms.
Since the fund compares ideas to currency in education, that makes Nancy Webster a rich woman.
Webster, a pre-kindergarten teacher at Joe Hall Elementary, has won a grant every year since 1987, sometimes winning two in one year.
This year, Webster was one of the award presenters.
``You can always use the money as a teacher - materials, field trips, projects - it's never enough,'' she said. ``If they can keep the money coming, I can keep the ideas rolling.''
The Education Fund is an independent, nonprofit organization that solicits and encourages businesses to get involved with public education. It was established 15 years ago with a one-time seed grant from the Ford Foundation. This year's teacher minigrants were sponsored by Williams Communications, Knight-Ridder, Humana, First Union and Florida Power & Light.
The fund also gave out Impact II Adapter Grants on Tuesday night. The IMPACT II program encourages teachers to network and share their classroom-tested ideas. Their results are showcased annually in the IMPACT II Idea Depot catalog.
The grant winners were chosen from about 300 applications by a volunteer committee of about 100 business people, educators and community leaders.
The Kinloch Park Elementary School teacher is one of 39 Miami-Dade public school teachers whose innovative ideas to liven up their lessons have earned them a minigrant from the Education Fund.
Camps and the other teachers were presented Tuesday night with their grants - totaling more than $20,000 - at the Wyndham Hotel in Miami.
Since 1985, the fund has searched for clever teachers in the public school system and awarded them with cash grants between $250 and $850. The money allows the teachers to implement their plans.
Ideas ranged from painting a ceramic mural on a wall at school to opening a school bookstore with donated books to engineering remote-controlled robots.
``The grant program is meant to design, shape and implement initiatives that encourage private sector involvement in public school improvement,'' said Roger Cuevas, Miami-Dade Public Schools superintendent.
Teachers say the hands-on approach to teaching inspires students who are not so keen on the traditional way of learning.
``So many times teachers are given a textbook, but face it, textbooks are not interactive,'' said Linda Lecht, the fund's vice president. ``Who says learning can't be fun?''
The innovative teaching styles are welcomed in Dade County, where teachers and school administrators are scrambling to find different ways of educating children in crowded classrooms.
Since the fund compares ideas to currency in education, that makes Nancy Webster a rich woman.
Webster, a pre-kindergarten teacher at Joe Hall Elementary, has won a grant every year since 1987, sometimes winning two in one year.
This year, Webster was one of the award presenters.
``You can always use the money as a teacher - materials, field trips, projects - it's never enough,'' she said. ``If they can keep the money coming, I can keep the ideas rolling.''
The Education Fund is an independent, nonprofit organization that solicits and encourages businesses to get involved with public education. It was established 15 years ago with a one-time seed grant from the Ford Foundation. This year's teacher minigrants were sponsored by Williams Communications, Knight-Ridder, Humana, First Union and Florida Power & Light.
The fund also gave out Impact II Adapter Grants on Tuesday night. The IMPACT II program encourages teachers to network and share their classroom-tested ideas. Their results are showcased annually in the IMPACT II Idea Depot catalog.
The grant winners were chosen from about 300 applications by a volunteer committee of about 100 business people, educators and community leaders.
Caption: photo: Lisette Camps with Kim Rubin (a)
BARBARA P. HERNANDEZ/HERALD STAFF AWARDS CEREMONY: Lisette Camps, right, won a grant to teach kids about space. At left, elementary teacher Kim Rubin.
Memo: LAST NIGHT
BARBARA P. HERNANDEZ/HERALD STAFF AWARDS CEREMONY: Lisette Camps, right, won a grant to teach kids about space. At left, elementary teacher Kim Rubin.
Memo: LAST NIGHT
Edition: Final
Section: Local
Page: 2B
Record Number: 0002030139
Copyright (c) 2000 The Miami Herald
Section: Local
Page: 2B
Record Number: 0002030139
Copyright (c) 2000 The Miami Herald
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