News Release

Local Schools To Benefit
from National Urban Grants 

National Education Association awards
$125,000 to help boost student achievement 

Washington, D.C. - – Educators in 19 states and 24 large school districts are the lucky recipients of $5,000 grants from the National Education Association (NEA) to fund creative approaches to bridging the gap between state budget cuts and the needs of students.
 
The NEA Urban Grants program annually funds 25 grassroots projects initiated by local affiliates of NEA. The 2003-04 grant winners were announced at the December 2003 meeting of the National Council of Urban Education Associations in Atlanta, Ga.

In presenting the awards, NEA President Reg Weaver spoke from the heart:  “Just saying thank you for all you do to meet the incredible challenges you face every day in our nation’s schools seems to fall short. But, NEA is proud to offer what we can to support the difficult work and outstanding creativity demonstrated by these local affiliates.  These 25 locals serve as wonderful examples for other challenging school districts.” 

The winning projects focus on closing the achievement gap, with a number of projects concentrating on enhancing instruction for the increasing population of students who are learning English.  Plans call for Spanish language survival courses for teachers and school employees to better connect with Hispanic parents and curricula revised for increased relevance to students of color.

Also in the works are a Web site to engage business and community stakeholders in supporting their local public schools, support systems for teachers seeking National Board Certification, and formation of community coalitions to advocate for changes in unfunded requirements of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), also known as the No Child Left Behind law. 

Alabama scored the highest number of grants this year with three winning programs. Arizona, Connecticut, New Jersey and Illinois followed with two winners each.  Other grant winners hail from Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Ohio, Tennessee and Utah.

The urban grant awards are part of a larger NEA effort to make public schools great for every child. Over the past decade, NEA has invested more than $150 million in public school improvement projects that empower teachers and school employees to enhance their work. More than 225 grants have been awarded since the program’s 1985 inception.

December 19, 2003

For More Information:
NEA Communications: 202 822-7200

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The National Education Association is the nation’s largest professional employee organization, representing 2.7 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators, and students preparing to become teachers.