In Tough Economy, Demand Soars for Teach for America Positions

Many college upperclassmen are discovering that being accepted for a starting teaching job with nonprofit Teach for America may be more difficult right now than getting into the nation's top law schools and grad programs, the New York Times reports. This year, some 4,500 individuals out of a record 46,300 applicants — 32 percent more than last year — were selected by Teach for America to work in high-poverty public schools — a surge of applicants fueled in part by a tough economy that has limited job options even for graduates of top colleges and universities. Read the story here. And check out this recent blog post by former Wall Street Journal reporter Bill Bulkeley in which Bulkeley looks at how the respective institutional biases of the Times and Journal show up in their coverage of TAF.

USA Funds to Award $2 Million for Higher Education Initiatives
Established to commemorate the organization's fiftieth anniversary, the awards will enable the recipients to expand programs that advance the goal of increasing the percentage of American adults with college degrees to 60 percent by 2025....
Posted: 7/12/10

Nature Conservancy Receives $800,000 to Expand Environmental Education Program
The gift from the Toyota USA Foundation will help expand the Conservancy's LEAF program to urban high schools across the country and create the first professional network for environmental high school educators....
Posted: 7/05/10

America's Promise Alliance, Simon Foundation Launch Partnership to Boost High School, College Graduation Rates
Part of the Alliance's Grad Nation campaign, the partnership will expand the Simon Foundation's Simon Scholars program, a $30,000 high school and college scholarship initiative for students who come from difficult life and economic circumstances....
Posted: 7/05/10

Carnegie Grantee Launches Fund to Support Degree Completion in Maryland
University System of Maryland chancellor Brit Kirwan, a 2009 recipient of the Carnegie Corporation's Academic Leadership Award, has launched a fund designed to increase Maryland's college-educated population from 41.1 percent to 55 percent by 2020....
Posted: 7/04/10

United Health Foundation Awards $1.2 Million in Scholarships
Scholarships averaging $5,000 were awarded through the foundation's Diverse Scholars Initiative to more than two hundred students from diverse backgrounds who are pursuing careers in the health sector....
Posted: 7/03/10

University of South Alabama Receives $2 Million Gift
The gift from Leeman Covey, in honor of his wife Pat Capps Covey, will be used to establish a scholarship program for top students at the College of Allied Health Professions, which will cover the cost of tuition, books, and room and board....
Posted: 7/02/10

GE Foundation Awards $10.4 Million to Stamford Public Schools
Awarded through the GE Foundation Developing Futures in Education program, the grant will be used to improve the math and science curriculum and launch a comprehensive K-12 literacy program in the Connecticut city's school district....
Posted: 6/28/10

More education news...

National Education Association Invites Grant Applications From K-12 Teachers for Environmental Education Projects
Grants of up to $1,000 will be awarded to K-12 teachers working to provide environmental awareness through positive learning programs that foster student's excitement in creating a better planet....
Deadline: 7/30/10

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation and Winnick Family Foundation Announce Field Trip Grant Program
Grants will offset or cover transportation costs to send children in grades 4-12 to visit the museum in Springfield, Illinois....
Deadline: 9/01/10

Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy Accepting Applications for 2011 National Grant Program
Grants of up to $65,000 will be awarded to nonprofit and public agencies with literacy programs for adult primary caregivers and their children....
Deadline: 9/10/10

Elsevier Foundation Invites Proposals for Innovative Libraries in Developing Countries Program
One-, two-, and three-year awards of up to $50,000 will be given to libraries in the developing world working to improve access to scientific, technical, and medical information....
Deadline: 9/15/10

More requests for proposals...

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The Posse Foundation traces its roots to a student who once said, "I never would have dropped out of college if I had my posse with me." In 1989, the newly established organization helped five students attend Vanderbilt University; four years later every member of "Vanderbilt Posse 1" graduated with honors. Since that initial group, Posse has sent more than 3,100 students from disadvantaged urban backgrounds to top colleges and universities around the country, with those students graduating at a rate of 90 percent — significantly above the national average. Learn more about the organization and its programs.

A new report from MDRC, a nonpartisan education and social policy research organization, suggests that small high schools of choice (SSC) in New York City increase students' likelihood of graduating in four years with a Regents diploma. Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, with additional support from the Carnegie Corporation and the Annie E. Casey, Kresge, and Starr foundations, the report, Transforming the High School Experience: How New York City's New Small Schools Are Boosting Student Achievement and Graduation Rates, found that by the fourth year, SSCs increased overall graduation rates by 6.8 percentage points, or roughly one-third the size of the gap in graduation rates between white students and students of color.

Did you know the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation's Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship Program provides up to $30,000 a year for up to three years to exceptional community college students so that they can transfer to four-year colleges and universities to complete their bachelor's degree? Each award is intended to cover a significant share of the student's educational expenses — including tuition, living expenses, books and required fees — for the final two to three years necessary to achieve a bachelor's degree. To be eligible for the program, students must be nominated by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation faculty representative at their two-year institution. To learn more, visit the JKCF Web site.

Executive Director of Development
Marymount College
Rancho Palos Verdes, California
Posted: 7/13/10

Director of Education
United Way of Greater Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Posted: 7/13/10

Director, Program Investments
Chicago Public Education Fund
Chicago, Illinois
Posted: 7/13/10

Education Director
Madison Square Boys and Girls Club
New York, New York
Posted: 7/12/10

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