Sam Phillips, President of the Potter Valley Classified Association, took the lead on a joint grant proposal with their local teachers association and was awarded a $5,690 grant from the Institute for Teaching. The goal was to provide opportunities for students to build on their appreciation of other cultures and become more involved in both school activities and the larger community. Phillips collaborated with art teacher, Carrie Mayfield, on a means to recognize the Pomo Indian Tribe, descendants of the first-known inhabitants of the Potter Valley, which the Pomo called Ba-lo Kai. Continue reading.
The 2012-2013 Grant Program is open and IFT eagerly awaits applications from CTA members and chapters for projects and programs that demonstrate the efficacy of the strength-based, teacher driven approach to school change. Individual grants up to $5,000 and Chapter grants up to $20,000 are available for next school year. The deadline to submit a grant application is April 30, 2012.
Applications will be reviewed in May by the IFT Grant Selection Committee, composed of teachers from around the state. Awards will be announced in June. In the fall (and again in the spring), members of the Grant Selection Committee will join IFT staff to visit each project location and to meet with team members to discover their learnings.
Project grants are awarded directly to CTA members, although the funds are administered by their local Associations in order to avoid any tax liability to grant recipients.
The IFT Grant Program emphasizes the importance of teachers in school change from a positive, strength-based perspective. Grant proposals are judged based on a strength-based matrix that includes the following seven factors:
Factor One: Future Oriented - Students have a dramatic, positive image of the future.
Factor Two: Work Oriented - Work is valued, purposeful, and relevant to students.
Factor Three: Student Centered -Emphasis is placed on learning over teaching.
Factor Four: School Family Relations - Parents as strong partners in the teaching and learning process are encouraged to be involved in their children’s education.
Factor Five: School-Wide Relations -All school stakeholders are responsible for the education of each student.
Factor Six: Student Relations - Students view other students as supportive and interested in their well-being.
Factor Seven: Results Oriented - Students understand strength-based thinking increases capacity and resilience to achieve goals.
The CTA IFT Grant Program is for CTA members, teacher teams, and CTA local Chapters. Below are important links for the CTA IFT Grant Program.
Middle East events, the cost of oil, the Japanese tragedy, risks associated with nuclear energy, and so much more, inflate the importance of the CTA IFT Grant on solar energy and the accomplishment by teachers and students at La Mirada High School. With all the emphasis on tests and testing, La Mirada High School teachers recognized that the teaching and learning process is a lot more complicated and complex than politicians and media pundits suggest. Students learn by doing. Over the past month, with the help of retired solar-company owner Bob Siebert, students have been busy "solarizing" the golf cart, which is now powered by three black and white 12-volt solar panels mounted atop the canopy. Continue reading.
10th grade students with Mrs. Padmini Kishore, solar academy biology teacher (bottom row, left) & Mr. Bob Siebert, academy community partner who guided students in the process (top, right).
While there may be no free lunch, how about a free ride? Imagine a car could run without you spending a dime on fuel. If you drove a solar-powered car, that dream might just come true. Like solar-powered homes, solar cars harness energy from the sun, converting it into electricity. That electricity then fuels the battery that runs the car's motor. Instead of using a battery, some solar cars direct the power straight to an electric motor.
But how practical are solar powered cars? Is it the next big idea? These are some of the questions that students at La Mirada High School are considering. Not waiting for the future, these students with their teachers are exploring new technologies right now. Moving full speed ahead, Norwalk La Mirada teachers, students and community partners are using the Green Jobs Prep School CTA IFT Grant to examine how traditional forms of energy can be converted to solar power. This Grant is part of the Solar Energy Academy at La Mirada High School. According to Norma Williamson, grant author and program director, students are learning the ins and outs of solar power as an alternative energy source. Moving from theory to practice, students are working convert a golf cart through solar power.
Solar Powered Cars have been defined as cars which run on energy from the sun. This definition however is changing. Solar power now allows people to charge plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) through solar panels installed on their homes and in recent history solar panels installed on the roof of the car itself. Click here for a brief history of solar cars.
Green Jobs Prep School is a career technical education/career pathway school within a school that prepares high school students to join post secondary programs in environmental majors. The goal is for these programs to lead to an industry recognized certificate, licensure, associate or baccalaureate degree and, ultimately, success in the green economy. Look for updates on this great program where the future is right now.
Below is a brief video, produced by La Mirada High School students on the Solar Academy's solar golf cart process.
