$25,000 PK–12 Social Emotional Learning Grants: Deadline in 3 Weeks

Applications are due April 20 for the Social Emotional Learning Innovation Fund grants from Education First, the NoVo Foundation and Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. This year grants will be awarded to both individual teachers and multi-school programs. Last year more than one in 10 applicants received funding.

Dozens of grants of up to $25,000 apiece are expected to be awarded. Last year, 67 individual teachers received grants of up to $5,000; and 30 districts won grants of up to $25,000. That represented about 12 percent of total applicants.

The program is aimed at supporting projects "that foster social and emotional (SEL) skills in students in grades PK-12," according to the organizations. "Whether you have an idea for a new initiative or want to expand or continue an existing project, we want to hear from you."

All proposals are welcome, according to the grant organizers, but this year projects of special interest will focus on indigenous populations; immigrants or refugees; English language learners; and LGBTQI students.

According to the sponsors: "We are looking for proposals from individual teachers, teams of educators, and district leaders seeking to improve students' social-emotional skills in fresh, inventive or innovative ways. Examples can include novel interventions or instructional practices focused on improving competencies such as resilience, academic tenacity, learning mindsets, self-management, sense of belonging, and other social and emotional skills."

Applications are due April 20 by 5 p.m. Pacific. Further information an teacher and district applications can be found at education-first.com/social-emotional-learning-innovation-fund.

NSF Grant to Cover Master Degrees in STEM Teaching and Bonuses

The $2.8 million from the National Science Foundation will cover tuition and fees for teachers working in middle and high schools to earn their master of education degrees with an emphasis on science, technology, engineering and math; they'll also receive a $10,000 annual stipend for four years afterwards to train other teachers in schools serving populations of students who are under-represented in the STEM fields.

E-rate Delays and Denials 'Unjust,' According to EducationSuperHighway

The organization blames the Federal Communications Commission, which oversees E-rate program administrator Universal Service Administration Company (USAC). The FCC could accelerate approval of fiber broadband projects, the new site asserted, by directing USAC "to eliminate the red tape in the E-rate application process."

Walton Grant will Ready Principals to Run 'Autonomous' Schools

A $1.7 million grant will help Indianapolis Public Schools as the school system shifts away from centralized support and its principals take on more autonomy. According to the final paperwork, the purpose of the grant is "to support the development of internal capacities, processes, and systems necessary for implementing full, building-level autonomy for every IPS school."

Games for Change Competition Deadline Approaches

Students in five different cities have until the end of April to submit their games to the "Games for Change Student Challenge," taking place right now in Los Angeles, New York, Pittsburgh, Atlanta and Detroit. The competition is intended to encourage young people to create digital games that combine story-telling with civic engagement.

TechGirlz Sets STEM Outreach Goal: 20K by 2020

Podcasting. Designing mobile apps. Using digital mapping. Creating animation with Python. Encrypting messages. Arduino programming. These are a few of the free workshop plans made available as "TechShopz in a Box" by TechGirlz.

Wonder Workshop Debuts Robotics PD Initiative for Teachers

Wonder Workshop, provider of educational robots, has launched the Teach Wonder initiative, a new program that leverages nonprofits to give teachers the skills they need to bring coding and robotics into their classrooms.

Recipients of 2018 McGraw Prize in Education Revealed

Next month's ASU+GSV Summit in San Diego is the venue where three people will be recognized for their innovative contributions to education. They include an individual who has brought coding to girls, another who has dived into the science of learning and a third who has used data to increase student achievement at his university.

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