Little Help for Rural School Innovation in Federal Grant Program

/PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Department of Education's Investing in Innovation (i3) grant program did little to fund education innovations unique to high-needs rural schools, despite regulation requirements encouraging rural proposals.

Instead, projects that are largely urban in origin and design, managed by urban-centered institutions, and operating primarily in urban schools, were able to win bonus points in the competition by adding a small, sometimes token effort in a handful of rural schools.

These are the key findings of " Taking Advantage: The Rural Competitive Preference in the Investing in Innovation Program ," a report published by the national non-profit Rural School and Community Trust, which analyzed all the proposals and Education Department review sheets for the 19 applicants that claimed the rural bonus points and were ultimately among the 49 applicants awarded i3 grants.

Only three of the applicants claiming the rural bonus points made "authentically rural" proposals, which, according to the Rural Trust, involved innovations that are expressly applicable in rural schools, are clearly focused on serving rural schools, and will serve high-needs students in rural schools.

According to Marty Strange, Policy Director, Rural School and Community Trust, and principal author, "It seems absurd on its face that a project, originating in and operating entirely within the city of New York and has no plan to offer anything to rural schools, can claim and receive a rural bonus point merely by arguing that the innovation might work later in some rural place." Strange added, "The idea that if something can make it in New York it can make it anywhere makes great music but bad public policy. We are not saying that proposal is not a good proposal and should not have been funded. We are saying it should not have claimed rural points and should not have been awarded rural points."

The preference for rural proposals was undermined by the fact that only token effort was required in rural areas to claim the bonus points, while the two-point bonus for doing so was more than that allowed other preferred areas, and because readers who scored the proposals were provided no rubric to guide them in assessing proposal's rural effort, according to the report.

Many of the readers were undoubtedly unfamiliar with rural schools and some gave points without much due diligence to the extent of rural effort or the appropriateness of the proposed innovation to a rural setting. This problem is aggravated by the paucity of rural education research to support proposal writers or readers who review their proposals.

"It is evident that many of the applicants were simply taking advantage of the rules of the game and the referees who scored the proposals were ill-prepared to call fouls," said Strange. He added, "Most awardees are serving urban and suburban schools and reflect little real engagement or effort connected with rural school districts."

The report offered the following key recommendations:

* To make competitive grants effective in rural settings, Taking Advantage suggests setting aside funds for rural schools or collaborations of rural schools;
* A requirement that the innovation be expressly designed to meet challenges that are unique to those schools; and
* Implement a system of "prior supports" to provide technical assistance to those applicants in the development of solid rural proposals.


Investing in Innovation (i3) Grant Program

The Investing in Innovation (i3) competitive grant program is the U.S. Department of Education's effort to support innovation in public schools and was funded through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.

To encourage projects focusing on rural education the Department offered two bonus points in the scoring system for projects that would implement innovative practices, strategies, or programs that are designed to focus on the unique challenges of high-need students in rural schools and school districts.

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UGA leadership program to use grant to raise students' college readiness and completion rates

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded the Georgia Leadership Institute for School Improvement a data utilization grant that will support an 18-month project to help high schools use college success data to make improvements in instruction and teacher practices to raise students’ college readiness and completion rates.

GLISI—a public/private initiative that provides leadership training and capacity building for K-12 school systems throughout the state—is affiliated with the Fanning Institute, a unit of the Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach at the University of Georgia.

“The Gates grant is an incredible opportunity to support 10 district teams to access, utilize and apply post-secondary information from the National Student Clearinghouse and other state data reports in order to improve instruction that leads to increased college readiness and completion for Georgia’s students,” said Gale Hulme, GLISI executive director.

Teams from 10 school districts will learn how to read reports from sources such as the National Student Clearinghouse, interpret what they mean, and use the information to influence school improvement and classroom instruction. Each team will include a principal, counselor, teacher, data administrator, district office administrator and a representative from a local university.

Data have been used successfully to improve high school graduation rates and help schools meet annual yearly progress goals. However, meeting those minimal standards is not adequately preparing high school graduates for success in post-secondary education. Approximately 45 percent of students enrolled in four-year colleges fail to graduate in six years and 89 percent of first-generation college students drop out prior to earning a degree—an issue this grant seeks to address.

“If we’re going to compete with Korea, China and top industrialized countries, our students need to be successful through college and beyond,” said Mary Anne Charron, senior performance consultant at GLISI and principal investigator. “Now our focus needs to be on P-20 successes.”

In addition to NSC data, participating school districts will learn about and use data from the University System of Georgia, the Technical College System of Georgia and the state’s longitudinal database. These reports are available for every district and high school to show how their graduates fared as college students. GLISI also will create performance-based modules as tools to help other schools mine the data for themselves and will offer a coaching component to help leaders use the data.

Charron, a former high school principal, said that seeing these data will convince high school leadership to invest in making changes to increase college readiness. As with any change, the next step will be to determine how school leadership can cascade their findings into the culture and practice of the school.

GLISI, founded in 2002, has a national reputation for helping education leaders positively impact student achievement and improve organizational effectiveness, ensuring that the workforce in Georgia’s schools is able to meet the needs of 21st century communities. School systems that have partnered with GLISI report gains in student performance, staff collaboration and leadership for learning.

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GSU receives Department of Education grant for international business education

Georgia State University has received a $188,000 Business and International Education grant from the Department of Education to establish a Southeast regional alliance of higher education institutions in seven states.

This comes on the heels of GSU’s $1.52 million award to establish a Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) in the J. Mack Robinson College of Business. Members of the alliance of two- and four-year colleges, including historically black colleges and universities, will work to improve core courses in international education.

The alliance also will assist in preparing faculty to teach international business and strengthen the links between businesses and schools on matters related to international education.

Besides Georgia, the regional alliance includes Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. The project will be implemented by faculty of the Institute of International Business in the Robinson College.

“This grant, resulting from a very competitive review by DOE, will complement the work of CIBER in providing programs and activities to improve the scope of international business education in our region,” said Tamer Cavusgil, the Fuller E. Callaway professorial chair and director of Robinson’s Institute of International Business.

There are about 600 two- and four-year colleges in the Southeast. The alliance could potentially benefit more than 160,000 students. Also benefitting will be the business community which will have access to a pool of business school graduates with knowledge of the increasingly complex global business marketplace.

The list of consortium schools by state to date includes: Alabama A&M University, Atlanta Metropolitan College, Clark Atlanta University, Clayton State University, Darton College, East Georgia College, Gainesville State College, Georgia Perimeter College, Morehouse College, South Georgia College, Mississippi Consortium for International Development via Jackson State University, Tuskegee University, Shaw University, Winston-Salem State University, and Hampton University.

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Georgia State: College of Education to promote service learning in schools and communities

 Faculty from all six departments in Georgia State University’s College of Education will be working together over the next three years to increase service learning throughout metro Atlanta.

The college received a $654,000 grant last month from a non-profit organization, Learn and Serve America. GSU’s education faculty will use the grant to integrate service learning activities into teacher preparation courses. They will also increase students’ civic engagement and academic learning through service learning activities in metro Atlanta schools.

“I see this grant as a catalyst for increasing community engagement across the College of Education and throughout K-12 schools in the metro-Atlanta area,” said Caitlin McMunn Dooley, assistant professor in the Department of Early Childhood Education who wrote the grant.

“Each department in the College of Education has at least one faculty member who will participate in a professional learning community as we incorporate service learning into educator preparation courses,” she added.

The college will collaborate with Georgia State University’s Center for Teaching and Learning and Office of Community and Civic Engagement, K-12 school districts, Hands on Atlanta and the Children’s Restoration Network.

“We’re trying to build the capacity for service learning in education,” Dooley said. “If we teach something on campus and the resources for it aren’t present in the schools or communities, then the service learning breaks down. I’m hoping that this grant will prevent that breakdown by building strong ties.”

Learn and Serve America is an organization that “offers support to K-12 schools, community groups and higher education institutions to facilitate service-learning projects,” according to the organization’s website. For more information on the grant, visit www.learnandserve.gov. 

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National Alliance for Public Charter Schools Finds Eight Race to the Top Finalists Supportive of Charter Schools

/PRNewswire/ -- The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools today released the following statement from president and CEO, Peter Groff. This statement is in response to the announcement of 19 finalists in the second round of competition for Race to the Top funding under the U.S. Department of Education.

"We are pleased to see strong representation from states supportive of charter schools as finalists in the second round of the Race to the Top competition. Eight of the finalists rank among the top 10 states shown to support the growth of high-quality charter schools in our annual examination of state charter laws. We commend these states for the commitment they've shown to education reform by enacting legislation that supports high-quality charter schools.

They are: Arizona, California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts and New York. Two of the other finalists, Florida and Pennsylvania ranked eleventh and twelfth out of forty states with charter laws. We wish them success in their continued pursuit of a high-quality charter school sector within a healthy public education system.

Six states have raised or eliminated caps that hinder the growth of high-quality charter schools in response to Race to the Top. We are pleased to see Hawaii, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Illinois, New York and Rhode Island advanced to the final stage of the competition.

Unfortunately, three finalists fail to meet at least one Race to the Top guideline because they continue to block charter school growth. They are: Kentucky, North Carolina and Ohio. Despite education reform efforts that may exist in these states, they are keeping high-quality charter schools from bringing parents another public school option. Kentucky, in particular, has yet to pass a charter school law.

Maryland, also a finalist, was shown to have the worst charter school law in the country according to our rankings.

The remaining states, New Jersey and South Carolina, have charter laws that could be improved, but do not restrict the growth of high-quality charter schools with caps.

The Obama Administration and the U.S. Department of Education have created an unprecedented opportunity for reform with the Race to the Top. We applaud the Department's efforts to date and urge them to reinforce their commitment to the growth of high-quality charter schools by awarding grants only to those states with a track record of supporting high-quality charter schools."

The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (http://www.publiccharters.org/) is the national nonprofit organization committed to advancing the charter school movement. The Alliance works to increase the number of high-performing charter schools available to all families, particularly low-income and minority families who currently do not have access to quality public schools. The Alliance provides assistance to state charter school associations and resource centers, develops and advocates for improved public policies, and serves as the united voice for this large and diverse movement. More than 1.6 million students attend nearly 5,000 charter schools in 40 states and the District of Columbia.

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Georgia Racing to the Top

Governor Sonny Perdue yesterday announced that Georgia has submitted its application to the U.S. Department of Education for the second round of federal “Race to the Top” grants. As part of its Phase II application Georgia added three school districts, Dade, Peach and Pulaski, to the 23 districts that applied in the first round.  The three new districts were chosen to align federal School Improvement Grants with Race to the Top.  The state stands to receive up to $400 million over four years to implement its plan if selected.

“Georgia’s performance in the first round of Race to the Top shows that we are in an incredibly strong position to compete and win,” said Governor Sonny Perdue.  “Race to the Top would continue the direction the state has already been moving in education policy.  Through strong partnerships with diverse districts around the state, we will continue to improve student achievement.”

The Race to the Top fund is a $4 billion grant opportunity provided in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to support new approaches to improve schools. The fund is available in the form of competitive grants to encourage and reward states that are creating conditions for education innovation and reform, specifically implementing ambitious plans in four education reform areas:

Adopting standards and assessments that prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace and to compete in the global economy;
Building data systems that measure student growth and success, and inform teachers and principals about how they can improve instruction;
Recruiting, preparing, rewarding, and retaining effective teachers and principals, especially where they are needed most; and
Turning around our lowest-achieving schools.
Georgia’s application was prepared through a partnership between the Governor’s Office, the Office of Student Achievement, the Georgia Department of Education and education stakeholders. Four working groups and a fifth critical feedback team consisting of teachers, principals, superintendents, higher education faculty, non-profit and informal education organizations, state policy makers, and members of the business and philanthropic communities developed the ideas for inclusion in the state’s application.

Recommendations focus on strengthening traditional and alternative preparation programs for teachers and leaders, supporting teachers more effectively in the classroom, evaluating teachers and leaders with consistent and objective criteria that inform instruction, and rewarding great teachers and leaders with performance-based salary increases.

The application also calls for Georgia to adopt and implement common curricular standards and internationally-benchmarked assessments that indicate Georgia’s ability to compete within a globally-connected economy.

26 local school districts have signed on to partner with the state in implementing Georgia’s Race to the Top plan. These districts, which make up 41 percent of public school students in Georgia, include: Atlanta, Ben Hill, Bibb, Burke, Carrolton, Chatham, Cherokee, Clayton, Dade, DeKalb, Dougherty, Gainesville, Gwinnett, Hall, Henry, Jones, Meriwether, Muscogee, Peach, Pulaski, Rabun, Richmond, Rockdale, Spalding, Valdosta and White.  The participating districts include 46 percent of Georgia's students in poverty, 53 percent of Georgia’s African American students, 48 percent of Hispanics and 68 percent of the state's lowest achieving schools.

The state will work closely with these systems to implement the ideas contained in the application. 50 percent of the funds awarded to Georgia will be distributed to the local partners to meaningfully enact the Race to the Top reforms. The state will study the effectiveness of these practices to identify and scale up those that prove to be effective.

The U.S. Department of Education estimates that phase two winners will be announced in late August or early September 2010.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation selected 15 states, including Georgia, to benefit from technical assistance for Race to the Top application development. The states were selected based on how well poised they are to win Race to the Top based on progress in education policy and reform. Georgia partnered with The Parthenon Group, a consulting firm based in Boston, which specializes in part in education reform.

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Spelman College to Receive $1 Million from ExxonMobil to Boost Number of Female Engineers

(BUSINESS WIRE)--ExxonMobil Foundation announced today a $1 million grant to Spelman College to provide scholarships to black women pursuing technology-related degrees. The Women in Science and Engineering Scholars program is the second contribution from the company to help facilitate the recruitment, retention and graduation of black females pursuing degrees in chemistry, physics, mathematics and computer science.

“This generous investment will help build on this achievement by enhancing our capacity to develop and prepare women for successful leadership in the fields of math and science.”

“ExxonMobil has had a long-term commitment to science and mathematics education and supports educational initiatives to encourage the next generation of engineering scholars,” said Gerald McElvy, president, ExxonMobil Foundation. “As our country continues to diversify and grow, our goal is to promote awareness of the many opportunities for those who hold engineering degrees and to provide the skills needed for students to be successful, especially for the underrepresented sector of women engineering professionals.”

Six students pursuing a major in one of the targeted physical science or mathematics disciplines will be selected annually as ExxonMobil Scholars. Along with tuition, fees, books, supplies and room and board, the scholarship will provide research training, mentoring and professional development. The scholars also will participate in 10-week paid summer internships with ExxonMobil or other research-active organizations and have access to research labs at both Spelman and Georgia Tech.

“Spelman College has the distinction of being the leading producer of black females who go on to earn doctoral degrees in science and engineering,” said Beverly Daniel Tatum, president, Spelman College. “This generous investment will help build on this achievement by enhancing our capacity to develop and prepare women for successful leadership in the fields of math and science.”

Applicants must be high school seniors with a minimum grade point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale, belong to an under-represented minority group in scientific and engineering fields and have a combined SAT score of 1,650 or a composite score of at least 25 on the ACT. For more information, send an e-mail to lwinfield@spelman.edu.

ExxonMobil has a long history with Spelman that started in 1884 when company founder, John D. Rockefeller, paid off the $5,000 debt of a school for recently freed black women in Atlanta, while visiting with his wife and mother-in law. That school was later renamed Spelman College in honor of Mr. Rockefeller’s wife’s family. In addition to the Women in Science and Engineering scholarships with Spelman, ExxonMobil develops and supports programs that encourage students, specifically women and minorities, to develop a keen interest in careers in the math and science and related fields. Nationally, ExxonMobil has supported programs such as the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, the Sally Ride Science Academy brought to you by ExxonMobil, Society of Women Engineers, and Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day, among others, designed to promote engineering as a career for women.

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Obama's stimulus bill includes huge student aid investments

(ARA) - The Obama administration has set forth an extensive bill designed to get the economy out of the recession and moving again. This $70 billion bill has a large portion directed towards students and investing in their education.

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rep. David Obey (D-Wisc.) said, "Our short-term task is to try to prevent the loss of millions of jobs and get our economy moving. The long-term task is to make the needed investments that restore the ability of average middle income families to increase their income and build a decent future for their children." The financing for continuing education will help people get the skills and knowledge they need to get jobs in the future, thus boosting the economy.

According to the summary of the bill released by the House Appropriations Committee, the bill would provide the following additional funding for student aid.

* Pell Grants: $15.6 billion to increase the maximum Pell Grant by $500, from $4,850 to $5,350 for the 2009-2010 academic year.

* Federal Work-Study: $490 million to support undergraduate and graduate students who work.

* Student Loan Limit Increase: Increased limits on unsubsidized Stafford loans by $2,000.

* Student Aid Administration: $50 million to help the Department of Education administer surging student aid programs while navigating the changing student loan environment.

The bill also provides funding that will benefit higher education institutions, including:

* $20 billion for school renovation and modernization, including technology upgrades and energy efficiency improvements: $14 billion for K-12 and $6 billion for higher education.

* $1 billion for 21st century classrooms, including computer and science labs and teacher technology training.

* $79 billion in state fiscal relief to prevent cutbacks to key services, including $39 billion to local school districts and public colleges and universities distributed through existing state and federal formulas, $15 billion to states as bonus grants as a reward for meeting key performance measures, and $25 billion to states for other high-priority needs such as public safety and other critical services, which may include education.

"These kinds of incentives from the government don't come along very often," says Janet Hill, financial aid and education counselor at ClassesAndCareers.com, a free online education service. "If people have been thinking of going back to school, now would be the time to do it. If they are hurting financially, they can easily get the money they need to get a degree." These benefits are set to expire after the 2010-2011 school year and are available for campus and online colleges.

Thanks to a growing number of online education options, degree-seekers can take advantage of President Obama's stimulus bill without leaving their jobs. Sites like ClassesAndCareers.com have helped nearly 500,000 degree-seekers get their stimulus money and enroll in online universities.

"We help people learn how to take advantage of this bill," says Hill. "All they have to do is visit our form and fill it out. We guide them through the rest."

Anyone interested in going back to school can visit www.OnlineSchools247.com to see if they qualify. They simply fill out the form and an education advisor will help them get their share of the stimulus money and find the best degree program for them. Or, call directly at (888) 361-6349.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

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West Georgia Awarded Safety Grant

The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety Collaborative Safety Initiatives awarded Health Services a $12,500 grant to fund its Georgia Young Adult programs. It is the sixth consecutive GOHS grant awarded to UWG. UWG will use the grant to educate the campus community on alcohol abuse, underage drinking and impaired driving.

The Georgia Young Adult Program is designed for colleges and universities and focuses on peer education to promote and raise awareness of highway safety issues. In addition to education on alcohol abuse, the program includes education on the use of safety belts, dangers of speeding and reducing risks on the road.

Grant funding is also utilized by the health educators to bring nationally recognized speakers and trainers to campus. During Health and Safety Week, which is the week before spring break, educators highlight behaviors that may put students at risk while on vacation.

The long-term goal of the program is to create a safer, healthier campus environment. For more information, call 678-839-0641.

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New fellowship program draws STEM majors to teaching in public schools

Ten recent graduates or professionals in mathematics and science have returned to classes at the University of Georgia this fall to become future math and science teachers in Georgia’s public schools, thanks to a new scholarship program in the UGA College of Education, funded by nearly $1 million in federal grants.

The Noyce Fellows program provides scholarships and stipends for science, technology, engineering and mathematics majors and professionals to attain a teaching certificate or a graduate education degree in exchange for a two-year commitment to teach in a high-needs public school in Georgia.

The program, based in the college’s department of mathematics and science education, was originally funded by a four-year, $750,000 National Science Foundation grant which will support three cohorts of 10 fellows each to complete teacher certification and a Masters of Arts in Teaching degree.

Now, the NSF has awarded the department an additional $150,000 to support four more scholars per cohort, thanks to funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Those four fellows will be added in January to the original 10 who began the program this fall. A second cohort will start in summer or fall 2010 and a third will begin in summer or fall 2011.

“The program is helping us attract highly qualified individuals to teacher careers in science and mathematics to overcome the teaching shortage in these critical fields,” said Denise Mewborn, principal investigator and head of the department of mathematics and science education. “Many of these individuals are giving up lucrative jobs to change careers, so the support the fellowship provides is essential.”

The fellows, who range from recent college graduates to those with years in the workplace, have found themselves drawn to the world of teaching.

Courtney Boehlke, a fellow in this year’s cohort, worked for nine years as a research technician and coordinator for a large lab in UGA’s cell biology department.

“I recently took a good look at what I felt was the most rewarding part of my job,” said Boehlke, who earned a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and molecular biology from UGA. “I enjoyed my role as a teacher most. I find my greatest fulfillment in sharing my knowledge with others and seeing their faces when they understand a difficult concept. It is my hope that my career change will allow me to move out of the lab and to pass on my passion for science and learning to future generations of scientists.”

After tutoring college students in mathematics for five years, Priscilla Alexander, a recent graduate of Paine College in Augusta, changed her career plans because she recognized a need for more qualified math teachers in high school classrooms.

“I earned my undergraduate degree in mathematics and planned to pursue a Ph.D. in mathematics, but I decided that mathematics education would be more conducive to my career goals,” said Alexander. “Most of all, I want to make a change when it comes to educating future mathematicians.”

Jamie York began to question her career goals after three years as an engineer. She took a strategic approach by researching potential careers and talking with more than 30 people in the teaching field.

“My desire is for a career that has a lasting impact, not simply a bottom line,” said York, who has a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Georgia Tech. “I also have a growing desire to work with youth, specifically those at risk. Having spent time volunteering with tutoring programs, at-risk youth mentoring programs, and high school discipleship groups, this desire has only continued to grow over the years. Finding a career path that integrated both my passion and my skill set was exactly what I was looking for.”

The fellowship provides financial support, including tuition, fees and a stipend of $4,000 to cover living expenses and books, for gaining certification to teach secondary mathematics or science as well as a graduate degree in those fields.The fellows will proceed through a carefully structured four-semester (summer-fall-spring-summer) program designed to help them develop subject matter knowledge for teaching and implement that knowledge in diverse school settings.

The Robert Noyce Scholarship program has funded four similar fellowship programs in Georgia at Clark Atlanta, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, and Kennesaw State universities.There are about 250 of these programs across the nation, ranging from $60,000 to $1.8 million.

For more information on the Noyce Fellowship Program at UGA, see www.coe.uga.edu/mse/nsf_info.html.

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HHS Announces Plans to Make $80 Million Available to Support Health IT Workforce

Grants Will Support Community College Training Programs, Curriculum Development, Additional Programs to be Announced in Coming Weeks

Dr. David Blumenthal, HHS' National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, today announced plans to make available $80 million in grants to help develop and strengthen the health information technology workforce. The grants that will be made available include $70 million for community college training programs and $10 million to develop educational materials to support these programs. Both programs will support the immediate need for skilled health information technology (health IT) professionals who will enable the broad adoption and use of health IT throughout the United States.

Authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the grants are the first in a series of programs to help strengthen and support the health IT workforce. Additional details regarding the grant programs for these and other key resource and training areas will be
announced over the next several weeks.

"Ensuring the adoption of electronic health records (EHRs), information exchange among health care providers and public health authorities, and redesign of workflows within health care settings all depend on having a qualified pool of workers," Dr. Blumenthal said. "The expansion of a highly skilled workforce developed through these programs will help health care providers and hospitals implement and maintain EHRs and use them to strengthen delivery of care."

The Community College program will establish intensive, non-degree training that can be completed in six months or less by individuals with some background in either health care or IT fields. Participating colleges will coordinate their efforts through five regional consortia that span the nation. Graduates of this training will fill a variety of roles that both assist health care practices during the critical process of deploying IT systems and support these practices on an ongoing basis.

The curriculum development program will make high quality educational materials available to the community colleges so these training programs can be established quickly to meet these workforce needs.

Any U.S. non-profit institution of higher learning currently engaged in providing training in health IT that is interested in drafting curriculum or establishing a consortium that includes community colleges may apply for the grants. Information about grant applications will be
available shortly at http://healthIT.HHS.gov/HITECHgrants.

"Critical to achieving the goal of the Heath Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act and supporting meaningful use of health IT is the availability of a skilled workforce that understands the unique technology and management needs within a clinical setting," added Dr. Blumenthal. "These newly funded programs are designed to equip the most qualified and advanced IT workforce in the world with the tools they need to modernize our health system."

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Emory Prevention Research Center Awarded $6.2 Million CDC Grant

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has awarded the Emory Prevention Research Center (EPRC) $6.2 million in a five-year grant renewal, Emory University researchers have announced.

The new grant award will enable the Emory Prevention Research Center, housed at Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health (RSPH), to continue its mission to prevent cancer and reduce health disparities among residents of rural southwest Georgia.

Established in 2004, the Emory Prevention Research Center is one of 35 CDC-funded Prevention Research Centers nationwide working as a network to conduct disease prevention research and promote public health in partnership with communities. The EPRC partners with the Southwest Georgia (SWGA) Cancer Coalition and a Community Advisory Board to conduct research, offer training, share research results, and provide evaluation technical assistance to local organizations in 33 counties of rural southwest Georgia.

Five years ago, the EPRC and its partners in Southwest Georgia collaborated to conduct the Healthy Rural Communities studies. Now, they are testing a program called Healthy Homes/Healthy Families in which trained coaches from the community work with families. The coaches will help the families assess their homes for healthy eating and physical activity opportunities. Then, the families and coaches will work together to make changes at home.

"The study is designed to see if we can change the home environment to make it healthier and whether changing the home environment leads to improved behavior," says Michelle Kegler, DrPH, EPRC director and principal investigator, and associate professor of behavioral sciences and health education at Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health (RSPH).

The new funding includes support for the EPRC’s research, but the Center also conducts training for community-based organizations to build local capacity for health promotion programs and provides technical assistance on evaluation for local organizations. Urban areas tend to have greater resources for health promotion than rural areas, so the EPRC is working closely with its partners in a 33-county region of Southwest Georgia to provide more research and other resources.

“Our partnership with the EPRC provides opportunities for southwest Georgia residents to participate in important research that ultimately may lead to improvements in health care across our regions,” says Diane Fletcher, chief executive officer of the Southwest Georgia Cancer Coalition. “We look forward to continuing these collaborative efforts that help to fulfill the Cancer Coalition’s mission to serve the people of our communities.”

The CDC grant award also provides special interest project grants for RSPH faculty to advance research in cancer and other diseases. This year’s award of $2.2 million includes four special interest projects and two additional new projects, including the Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network, which promotes the use of evidence-based programs for cancer control locally and nationally.

Other Emory projects funded this year include:

• Study of Active Surveillance Attitudes and Perceptions for Prostate Cancer led by Theresa Gillespie, PhD, associate professor, Emory University School of Medicine

• Coordinating Center for the Managing Epilepsy Well (MEW) Prevention Research Centers Network led by Colleen DiIorio, PhD, RN, FAAN, professor, Rollins School of Public Health

• Multiple Perspectives on Dual Protection Use by Young Women led by Ralph DiClemente, PhD, professor, Rollins School of Public Health, and Melissa Kottke, MD, assistant professor, Emory University School of Medicine

“We’ve laid a great foundation for collaborative research over the past five years, and we are excited about what can be accomplished with our community partners in the next five years,” says Kegler.


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Kaiser Permanente of Georgia Donates Nearly $500,000 to Morehouse School of Medicine

/PRNewswire/ -- On Oct. 8, 2009, Kaiser Permanente of Georgia will present a grant for nearly $500,000 to the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at the Morehouse School of Medicine to support the development and implementation of a workforce leadership program that will reduce health disparities by creating an integrated approach to primary care and mental health.

Former Surgeon General David Satcher, MD, Director of the Satcher Health Leadership Institute will join Morehouse School of Medicine and Kaiser Permanente of Georgia officials at a check presentation held at the Louis W. Sullivan National Center for Primary Care. A tour of Morehouse School of Medicine will immediately follow the check presentation.

The grant will be used to train scholars to encourage effective policy and practice in order to remedy the causes of health disparities, to improve access to care and to develop health care leaders who will advance the integration of mental and primary health care. Additionally, this initiative will create partnerships between mental and primary health care to more effectively diagnose and treat mental health conditions.

"Morehouse School of Medicine strives to improve the health and well-being of individuals and communities. Similarly, Kaiser Permanente's vision is to end health disparities, help everyone get the care they need and make better health a reality for all," said Peter Andruszkiewicz, president of Kaiser Permanente of Georgia. "This partnership will help address the findings of our needs assessment and ultimately make better health a reality for all."

The project will also improve access to care for underserved populations.

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Georgia State to receive $13.5 million U.S. Department of Education Grant

Georgia State University’s College of Education has been selected to receive a record $13.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Innovation and Improvement to increase the number of highly qualified teachers committed to high-need schools.

The five-year grant, the largest federal grant ever received by GSU’s College of Education, will fund the Network for Enhancing Teacher Quality Project (NET-Q), whose primary goals are to enhance teacher preparation programs, create a teacher residency program, impact teacher retention and student achievement.

“Teacher quality is still an issue for the state of Georgia and that’s apparent by the state’s ranking in terms of high school drop out rates and how our students rank on standardized tests,” said Gwendolyn Benson, College of Education associate dean for school and community partnerships and principal investigator of the NET-Q Project. “Research has indicated that high-need schools have difficulty attracting the best prepared teachers and so it’s our effort to support those high-need schools by preparing highly qualified teachers, who are effective with culturally diverse populations.”

Six school districts in metro Atlanta are partnering with Georgia State on the NET-Q Project, including Atlanta, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett County Public Schools. In addition to Georgia State, participating higher education institutions include Clark Atlanta University, Georgia Perimeter College, Albany State University and Columbus State University.

“This award recognizes the quality of Georgia State University faculty and their important ideas in improving teacher quality in our region,” said Risa Palm, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost. “It is a reflection of the progress of our university as a center for research, new ideas, high quality teaching and service to the metropolitan area and the state.”

Participating schools will focus on developing teachers’ knowledge and skills related to mathematics, science, special education, English Language Learners, technology and literacy. These fields represent Georgia’s greatest needs for highly qualified teachers. Special education constitutes the second largest shortage area of teachers in Georgia with, 43.2 percent of elementary special education instructors not fully certified, Benson said.

“Partnership is key,” Benson said. “We must continue to work collaboratively in a more intense way to impact teacher quality.”

A major focus of the project will be establishing paid teacher residency programs across the metro Atlanta area. Through the one-year residency positions, teachers will get real world experience while focusing on critical need fields, such as math, science and special education, Benson said. School districts will have up to five teacher residents each year and will alternate between content areas to ensure positions will be available for the teachers after they complete the residency program.

“There’s evidence that teachers who participate in a paid residency, a year before they take on the role of classroom teacher, stay in the profession longer,” Benson said.

Prospective teachers will focus on integrating a number of technological tools to enhance traditional curriculum in Pre-K through 12 classrooms, including social networking, Smartboards and online communication gaming tools, such as Second Life. Georgia State, in collaboration with Georgia Public Broadcasting, will also create a digital mentor training program, as well as air Georgia State classes, including state approved endorsement programs.

“Just as we have online classes it will be similar. Teachers will be able to register for a Georgia State class through Georgia Public Television from anywhere in the state, including many rural districts,” Benson said.

Through a partnership with the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, teaching residents, mentors, and university faculty will also be participants in a Teachers Learning in Networked Communities (TLINC) online community of support.

“The TLINC online communities will connect our teacher residents with other teacher residents across the country,” Benson said. “These communities build proficiency with learning technologies and establish the habit of participating in a collaborative teaching culture that teachers will carry with them throughout their teaching careers.”

For years, Georgia State has been working hard to address the shortage of teachers in Georgia, by expanding teacher preparation programs and building mentoring networks to keep teachers in Georgia’s schools.

Through the NET-Q Project Georgia State will be able to continue building relationships with many school districts it partnered with during a previous five-year Department of Education grant, which ended in September 2009. The Professional Development School Partnerships Deliver Success (PDS2) program, which is currently in 20 schools in the metro Atlanta area, placed Georgia State faculty members and pre-service teachers in high–need schools to help increase student achievement, meet strategic goals and recruit and retain high-quality teachers.

“I congratulate all of our faculty, school, and community partners on this recognition of their years of work to prepare teachers of unquestioned quality. This grant will allow our college to build on these accomplishments to produce effective models of teacher education that will have national and international impact,” said College of Education Dean Randy Kamphaus.

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IMPACT Year 2: Science, Math and Fun

he second year of the successful University of West Georgia IMPACT program is set to begin this weekend on Friday, Oct. 2, and Saturday, Oct. 3, with a science demonstration at the Technology-enhanced Learning Center, room 1305.

Improving Motivation, Performance, and Attitudes of Children and Teachers or IMPACT is a grant-funded program that helps children and educators get excited about math and science by hands-on learning that encourages creative thinking and problem solving skills.

Mad Georgia Tech Scientist Dr. A will kick off IMPACT Year 2 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Friday with a demonstration of his Sensational Science. He will show off his science prowess with the properties of super cool cryogenics, which is liquid nitrogen that measures a negative 321 degrees, the hot fire tornado, the bang of the Binaca cannon, Newton's Laws and other exciting experiments.

The 90-minute program continues for two more performances on Saturday at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Registration is ongoing and costs $1 for children and $2 for adults. Arriving 15 minutes early is recommended. To register and for more information on IMPACT and the weekend presentations, go to https://uwgagenda.westga.edu/impact101.html.

IMPACT Year 2 will also host Saturday camps.

This year, Saturday Science and Math Camps for K-8 students will be hosted from Oct. 31 through April and finish with an awards ceremony in May. The camps offer a wide range of fun and educational courses in science, technology, engineering and mathematics to children and educators for a registration fee of $5.

All sessions will be led by knowledgeable university scientists, experienced science educators and passionate students who are committed to enhancing teaching and learning of science and mathematics in the West Georgia region. To view the camp schedule, go to https://uwgagenda.westga.edu/impact101.html.

In 2008, the Alice Huffard Richards Fund granted $100,000 for one year for the IMPACT program. At the end of the first year, an evaluation determined that the program successfully met its goals and was renewed for a two-year cycle at $100,000 per year for a possible funding of up to $300,000. The grant is administered through the Community Foundation of West Georgia.

UWG Professors Sharmistha Basu Dutt, associate professor of chemistry and director of Engineering Studies, and Gail Marshall, assistant professor of curriculum and instruction, are coordinators of the grant program.

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GSU offers scholarships for next generation of rehabilitation counselors

Georgia State University was recently awarded a $750,000 federal grant to train the next generation of vocational rehabilitation counselors, helping to reduce a nationwide shortage in the field.

The grant will pay the educational expenses for graduate students who, upon graduation, are willing to work for a publicly funded agency that assists individuals with disabilities in finding employment.

The funding will support nine full-time graduate students each year for five years who will study in the rehabilitation counseling program, provided by the College of Education’s Department of Counseling and Psychological Services. The scholarships will be awarded starting this fall through GSU’s Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling Scholars Program.

“There is a chronic shortage as well as a huge number of professional rehabilitation counselors retiring; this will do something to address the national shortage,” said Professor Roger Weed, coordinator of the Rehabilitation Counseling Program.

A rehabilitation counselor assists individuals with disabilities to achieve their personal, career and independent living goals in the most integrated settings possible.

The grant was awarded to Georgia State’s Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, in collaboration with the College of Education. It is the second award to Georgia State, following a five year award given in 2004.

The Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling Scholars Program at Georgia State is more than just a scholarship, said Deon Locklin, director of the Public and Performance Management Group in the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, who co-directs the program with Weed.

“Students are matched with practicing counselors who serve as mentors throughout their program of study,” Locklin said. “They have field experiences with actual rehabilitation clients. We assist with their placement as they near graduation. It’s a comprehensive program that reflects a strong partnership between the university and the public sector.”

The shortage of qualified rehabilitation counselors working in the public vocational rehabilitation sector has reached critical heights. In Georgia alone, 14 percent of counselor positions in the Department of Labor’s vocational rehabilitation program remain open, according to Locklin’s research. This need will be exacerbated as baby boomers age out and retire.

In order to be eligible for the scholarship, candidates must already be admitted to GSU’s Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling graduate program. For each full-time academic year funded by this scholarship, the scholar must work two years in this field. No more than four years will be required for a two-year master's program.

For more information about Georgia State’s Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling graduate program, visit http://education.gsu.edu/main/2506.htm. More information on the Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling Scholars Program is available at http://www.ppmgsu.org/RSA-Scholars.html.

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UGA family researchers receive $5.9 million grant

University of Georgia researchers have been awarded a five-year, $5.9 million Core Center of Excellence grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to address the ways genetic predispositions combine with family and community environments to forecast drug use, drug abuse and risky sexual behavior among children, adolescents and young adults.

The principal investigator is Gene H. Brody, Regents’ Professor Emeritus of Child and Family Development in the UGA College of Family and Consumer Sciences and director of the Center for Family Research. Co-principal investigators are Steven R.H. Beach, director of the UGA Institute for Behavioral Research and Distinguished Research Professor of Psychology, and Steven M. Kogan, assistant professor of child and family development.

The CCOE will bring together a team of molecular and statistical geneticists, genetic epidemiologists and scientists specializing in prevention, public health and human development. Participating researchers are at the University of Georgia, Emory University, Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Iowa.

The grant will allow Brody and his fellow researchers to build on longitudinal, epidemiological research that dates back more than two decades. In that original research, Brody and his colleagues identified young people who were at risk for engaging in drug use, drug abuse, and risky sexual behavior. They also identified specific parenting practices and community characteristics that served to minimize the incidence of young people’s engagement in risky behavior.

Recently, Brody and his colleagues have begun to study the role genes play in the development of these risky behaviors. This research has begun to identify candidate genes that forecast increases in substance use and behavior problems among youth, as well as ways in which participation in prevention programs can override genetic risks.

The ultimate goal of the Center of Excellence, Brody said, “is to increase the efficacy of prevention programs by developing a better understanding of how genes and social environments interact to influence youths’ initiation and escalation of substance use and risky behaviors.”

More information on the UGA Center for Family Research is available at http://www.cfr.uga.edu/.

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Training Nursing Leaders at Georgia State

The Byrdine F. Lewis School of Nursing at Georgia State University received more than $800,000 in a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration to establish a new master’s degree concentration in Nursing Leadership and Healthcare Innovations. The three year grant provides funding for the development of the program, as well as for faculty and a staff administrator.

The nursing school has already initiated the new concentration, which features optional courses in nursing informatics and nursing leadership, and ten students have enrolled for fall 2009. Georgia State will become the only university in Atlanta to offer the nursing informatics curriculum and the second statewide.

By offering a degree concentration in nursing leadership and informatics, Georgia State is helping to fill a gap in the health care system. As health care strives to become more efficient, particularly through the use of technology, a need has arisen for nurses who understand both patient care and how technology can be used to improve care. With this increased use of technology, including the transition to personal health cards for all citizens by 2014, nurse informaticists who can translate technology into practice are in great demand.

“The need for a master’s degree concentration in nursing leadership and healthcare innovations is enormous. Nurse leaders are needed to implement innovative strategies for enhancing patient care outcomes and maximizing the use of technology in practice,” says Cece Grindel, associate director for graduate nursing.

The School of Nursing is working with Georgia State’s Institute of Health Administration to offer some of the coursework required in the new master’s program concentration. For more information on the degree program’s curriculum, visit http://chhs.gsu.edu/nursing/docs/HealthcareInnovationsCurr.pdf.

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GSU awarded $250,000 to support educational opportunities for military vets

The U.S. Department of Education has awarded Georgia State University a $250,000 grant to operate a Veterans Upward Bound program to help military navigate leaving the battlefield and heading to the classroom as they leave the service.

Georgia State is the one of only seven colleges and universities in the nation to land and share in the award totaling $1.75 million. GSU is the only in Georgia.

“Georgia State has a long tradition of supporting veterans,” said GSU President Mark Becker. “This grant will assist in furthering the work we do for a most deserving segment of our society – the men and women who tirelessly serve our nation and protect our freedoms. We are most appreciative that the U.S. Department of Education selected Georgia State to provide support through the Veterans Upward Bound program for those who have served in the U.S. military.”

If approved by U.S. Congress, GSU’s award could total $1 million over the next four years.

The program will support military veterans with academic skills, refresher courses, counseling, and mentoring, and tutoring, among its services with the goal of increasing the rate of enrollment and degree completion.

“Offering this assistance is our responsibility and our duty to the men and women who served in our nation’s military,” U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said in a release. “Helping them access college is good for the nation that they will continue to serve as productive and participating members of the civilian community.”

Veterans Upward Bound emerged out of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 and it is one of eight educational opportunity outreach programs designed to support and motivate students from disadvantaged backgrounds, including those with disabilities.

Georgia State, a leader in the enrollment of military veterans, will launch its Veterans Upward Bound program on campus on Sept. 1, said Everett Boyer, who will serve as project director. The program will operate out of the Office of Educational Opportunity and TRIO programs.

“This is a tremendous opportunity,” said Boyer. “With the new GI bill, this is an opportunity to help veterans re-enter the mainstream and transition from military to civilian life.”


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NASA Grant Targets STEM Teachers

Georgia teachers will have the opportunity to hone their instructional skills in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) as a result of a $3 million NASA grant awarded to the Georgia Institute of Technology.

The Electronic Professional Development Network Grant is designed to help Georgia Tech, in tandem with Orbit Education, Inc., prepare, produce, deliver and evaluate NASA-related online courses, workshops and experiences for the benefit of STEM educators in Georgia and across the nation. Courses and workshops will emphasize best practices, incorporating inquiry learning, case-based scenarios and data analysis actively into the programs. Georgia Tech’s Distance Learning and Professional Education (DLPE) and Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing (CEISMC) will be the lead units on the project.

“This project will allow Georgia Tech to reach a community of educators, enabling them to better prepare the next generation of engineers and scientists while enhancing their own careers”, says Dr. Nelson Baker, vice provost for Distance Learning and Professional Education (DLPE).

The five-year project will utilize existing NASA products and data. CEISMC, Georgia Tech’s K-12 educational outreach center, regularly conducts teacher professional development workshops face-to-face with Georgia teachers.

“We are eager to translate these professional learning experiences into an electronic format”, says Dr. Marion Usselman, CEISMC senior research scientist. “This will enable us to reach teachers who otherwise don’t have access to STEM professional development and to help move towards a more environmentally sustainable model where teacher and staff developers aren’t required to drive long distances to effectively get together.”

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