Vicki Rankin used funding from the Rotary Club of Florence, Oregon, USA, to introduce small-group workstations in her classroom at Siuslaw Elementary School.
By Meg Spencer
Many young professionals in Florence, Oregon, end up leaving when their children reach school age, seeking greener educational pastures for their kids. Our club began to think about how we could help our schools keep those bright young families around.
We came up with the idea of a Continuing Professional Education Fellowship program, modeled after a national teacher grant program we had seen, to help teachers pursue professional development.
Each year, our club offers two $2,000 fellowships to teachers and other professionals serving the community who are interested in improving their skills. Seven years after its launch, the program is thriving. Here are some of the results:
A middle school science teacher attended a graduate-level course at Portland State University focused on engineering and design education. He now leads a robotics club, and his students are award-winning robotics “engineers” who use Legos and other materials to design new projects. His classroom not only introduces young people to science, technology, engineering, and math skills, it is also a fun place where students are better prepared for the workplace of …read more
Source:: Rotary International Blog
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