THE Journal: News Update: Short-Term Impact of $3 Billion School Improvement Grants: Zilch; Long-Term Impact: TBD

News

Short-Term Impact of $3 Billion School Improvement Grants: Zilch; Long-Term Impact: TBD
A hefty study commissioned by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) and written by researchers at Mathematica has examined the impact of School Improvement Grants (SIGs) and found that implementing a SIG-funded model "had no impact on math or reading test scores, high school graduation or college enrollment."
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Council for Economic Education Releases New Content for Minecraft Education
The New York-based Council for Economic Education (CEE) has released new content for Minecraft: Education Edition, produced by Mojang and Microsoft.
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Kids See Racial and Gender Bias in the News and Prefer to Get News Through Social Media
Kids value the news, yet a majority surveyed feel neglected and misrepresented by the news. They also see racial and gender bias in the news, and prefer to get their news through social media. These were some of the findings in a recent report by Common Sense Media, a nonprofit organization.
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Maryland District Streams Live, Captioned Content on YouTube for Parents, Students, Staff
Among the day-long schedule for MCPS-TV is a live, interactive call-in show hosted by the school system's teachers. "Homework Hotline Live!" encourages students to phone, text or email homework questions to MCPS teachers, and then watch and listen as the teachers work through their questions.
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Study Links After-School Programs to Improved STEM Knowledge
Researchers have determined that after-school programs can help students in grades 4 through 12 improve their knowledge of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields.
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Federal Online Tool to Help Financial Aid Applicants Shuts Down
The IRS and the Department of Education (ED) confirmed late Thursday that the federal government intentionally shut off an online tool used by millions of students each year to apply for federal student aid.
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Deadline Looms for $30,000 Academic Enrichment Grants
Applications for the McCarthey Dressman Education Foundation's Academic Enrichment Grants are now being accepted, and the deadline is just a month away. The foundation provides grants of $10,000 per year for up to three years ($30,000 total) for educators who have workable ideas for improving student learning, either by supplementing classroom curriculum or by engaging students in after-school activities.
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Website Ranks K–12 Reading, Math Programs Under ESSA Standards
A new website launched by the Johns Hopkins University Center for Research and Reform in Education (CRRE) offers insights into K–12 reading and math programs.
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FuelEd Debuts Summit Curriculum With Analytics, Differentiated Learning Opportunities
The new FuelEd Summit curriculum features interactive content, adaptive technology for differentiated instruction, and robust tools and analytics.
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Google Cloud Acquires Kaggle, Releases New Machine Learning Products
Google Cloud has acquired Kaggle, home to the world's largest community of data scientists and machine learning enthusiasts. Google Cloud is also releasing new machine learning products, including a Video Intelligence API that automatically recognizes objects in videos and makes them searchable and discoverable.
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Disney-Backed littleBits Unveils Coding Kit
New York-based hardware startup littleBits, known for its electronic building blocks and for being part of the Disney Accelerator program, has unveiled a new kit that teaches students in grades 3 to 8 how to code.
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Upcoming K–12 Grants
- Acer Extreme Classroom Tech Makeover
  Sponsor: Acer
  Award: $20,000 in Acer equipment (a classroom set of Acer Switch Alpha 12 two-in-one notebooks)
  Number of Awards: 1
  Application Deadline: March 31
- SparkFun Community Partner Program
  Sponsor: SparkFun
  Award: STEM/STEAM-releated prize packages, event and team sponsorships and other types of support
  Number of Awards: Varies
  Application Deadline: Third Thursday of each month; awards announced on the last business day of each month
- LIFT Prize 2017
  Sponsor: Lumina Foundation
  Award: $25,000
  Number of Awards: 2
  Application Deadline: April 9, 2017
- Magnet Schools Assistance Program Competition
  Sponsor: United States Department of Education
  Award: $12 million to $15 million over a period of three to five years
  Number of Awards: 23 to 30
  Application Deadline: April 11
- Academic Enrichment Grants
  Sponsor: McCarthey Dressman Education Foundation
  Award: $30,000 maximum ($10,000 over three years)
  Number of Awards: Not specified (five awarded last year)
  Application Deadline: April 15
- Teacher Development Grants
  Sponsor: McCarthey Dressman Education Foundation
  Award: $30,000 maximum ($10,000 over three years)
  Number of Awards: Not specified (two awarded last year)
  Application Deadline: April 15 (submissions open Jan. 15)
- Siemens Possibility Grant (2017 Siemens STEM Day Sweepstakes)
  Sponsor: Siemens Foundation
  Award: $10,000
  Number of Awards: 1
  Application Deadline: April 28, 5 p.m. ET
- Champion Creatively Alive Children Grant Program
  Sponsor: Crayola and the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP)
  Award: $2,500 plus $1,000 in Crayola gear
  Number of Awards: Up to 20 major prizes, plus one Crayola Classpack for every applicant submitting by the early bird deadline
  Application Deadline: June 23 (June 5 for early bird prize)
- TAF Project-Based Learning Grants for Grades 6–12
  Sponsor: Toshiba America Foundation
  Award: Two categories: Up to $5,000 and more than $5,000
  Number of Awards: Not specified
  Application Deadline: Up to $5,000 awarded on a rolling basis; Aug. 1 deadline for applications for more than $5,000
- Adopt a Classroom
  Deadline: Ongoing
- Brinker International Grants
  Deadline: Ongoing
- Brown Rudnick Community Grants
  Deadline: Ongoing
- Corning Foundation Grants
  Deadline: Ongoing
- DonorsChoose.org
  Deadline: Ongoing
- Michael & Susan Dell Foundation Grants
  
  Deadline: Ongoing
  Award: No more than 10 percent of an organization's annual operating expenses or 25 percent of the total budget for the project being funded; awards have ranged from the hundreds to the millions of dollars.
  Number of Awards: Varies
  Qualification: Project should "directly serve or impact children living in urban poverty, particularly in the areas of education, family economic stability (including microfinance) and childhood health."
- Naiku Innovative Teacher Grant
  Deadline: Ongoing (approx. 10 awards per month)
- Sony Grants for Education
  Deadline: Ongoing (grants awarded on a rolling basis)
Call for Papers & Proposals
- Innovative and Creative Education and Teaching International Conference
  Proposals Due: March 31, 2017 (one-page abstract)
  Proposal Submission URL: icetic.net/online-abstract-submissions
  Event: June 21–23
  Badajoz, Spain
- Submit calls for papers/proposals to [email protected].
Upcoming Events
- Clute International Conference on Education
  March 12–16, 2017
  San Diego, CA
- CUE 2017 National Conference
  March 15–18
  Palm Springs, CA
- NSTA 2017
  March 30–April 2
  Los Angeles
- Blended and Personalized Learning Conference
  March 31–April 1
  Providence, RI
- CoSN 2017
  April 3–6
  Chicago
- ICEEEL 2017 : 19th International Conference on e-Education and e-Learning
  April 24-25
  Boston, MA
- More events at thejournal.com
- Construct3D 2017
  May 5–7
  Duke University (Durham, NC)
- More events at thejournal.com
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Professional Resources

THE News Update is a thrice-weekly newsletter covering the latest in technology trends, tools, and usage for K-12 instruction and administration. Opinion pieces by leading technology experts and visionaries provide insight on a variety of critical issues. News, announcements, and need-to-know statistics give readers a quick look at timely news and events affecting the education community. Please direct any questions or comments about THE News Update to [email protected]

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News

Upcoming K–12 Grants

Call for Papers & Proposals

Upcoming Events

Professional Resources