We have continued to use the materials for math instruction that we purchased with funds from the NEA. We continue to have a daily Math Circle focusing on the activities in "Calendar Math." Last year's students were well prepared to continue learning math through this same program when they entered Kindergarten. We added many manipulatives for our Small Groups for matching, sorting, and counting that have been helpful in teaching other concepts as well as math concepts. Our county if focusing on th Math and Science curriculums for the near future and we are already enriching our students' math experiences. The funds from NEA provided for materials we never would have been able to purchase with just funds provided from our county. Thank you NEA!

We have implemented the NEA funds in various forms. We had teachers from grades 1st-3rd, take part in professional development over the summer, with Explorations in Math, specifically on how to incorporate more problem solving/data collection into our science units. We actively used materials/data to construct various types of graphs, which can be done with students in the classroom.

Recently, an Explorations in Math representative, co-taught a science lesson with me. He modeled for stduents how they could interpret the worm lengths and make a bar graph, including physical representations. As a follow up my students have been taking weekly worm meausrements and graphing the data. They are definately getting the opportunity to see how math, specifically problem solving, is in everything we do!! Thank you NEA for funding our learning!

The picnic tables funded by the NEA grant have been used quite a bit in our courtyard as an outdoor learning center. The field packs have not received as much attention, but I suspect they will in the spring. One of my students from last year came to borrow a flip-cam for a project for a class this year.

The professional development resources funded by NEA continue to serve as valuable resources for our district as we continue our work on implementing the Comprehensive LIteracy Model. These resources have played a major part in helping us learn how to provide high quality literacy instruction for all students, grade K-8. Our students, particularly ones who may struggle, are sucessfully reading and writing more than they ever have. It truly is amazing.

Thank you all for sharing. The staff at the NEA Foundation loves nothing more than to hear about the great things that our grantees do in the classroom, so keep the good news coming!

In Robbinsdale, MN, we are grateful for the thorough research and professional development that was enabled by funding from the NEA Foundation. Based on what we've learned, we are developing 12 hybrid/blended credits that will be piloted in our high schools in 2012.

I'm out of laegue here. Too much brain power on display!

Using the funds from the NEA Foundation Grant, Fairview High School compiled faculty reflections to describe changes we were making in our gradebooks, and we published a book, Grades Don’t Matter: Using Assessment to Measure True Learning. The book guided professional development on more effective strategies for assessing student learning and for providing students and parents with meaningful feedback. In turn, teachers were able to use the information to improve instruction and to provide remediation. The project not only informed and guided our faculty, but also helped other schools. We have hosted a number of visiting schools and are involved in studies of our book with other schools. Our students have seen serious gains in ACT scores, especially among our most challenged students, and AP test scores have risen. Communication with students and parents is much more accurate and productive. Thanks, NEA, for your help!

We took the entire 4th grade to Biltmore Estates in Asheville, NC for a field trip. The trip was as educational for the students as it was for the docents. After debriefing, we noticed that all groups had to tell the docents that 70% of our students have never left their home city, let alone visit the mountains or a huge estate. After a discussion with the docents, they slowed down, were more patient with the kids, and answered all of the students questions.

As for the grant, the funds provided paid for transportation, entrance fees, and cameras. Unfortunately, we found out after we arrived that cameras could not be used inside the building. Students were broken into discovery groups of photographers, videographers, secretaries, mathematicians, and historians. Even though students could not video or take pictures inside, they interviewed each other on the grounds of the estate. The historians and mathematicians whispered information to the secretaries as they discovered something new. Upon returning to school, the students worked with their group to create a short movie displaying the information they encountered on their trip through time to Biltmore Estates.