The National Education Association has announced the first recipients of a fund that supports state and local projects to improve teaching.
Created through a $3 dues increase approved by delegates to the organization’s Representative Assembly, the Great Public Schools Grant has disbursed some $2 million since September, NEA President Dennis Van Roekel said last week. In all, the NEA plans to fund $6 million worth of projects each year over a decade.
Early grantees include the Kenai Peninsula Education Association, in Alaska, which will develop a cadre of observers to provide instructional support keyed to a new evaluation system; the Illinois Education Association, which will train up to 20 members to implement and train others in the common-core standards; and the Massachusetts Teachers Association, which will bring more educators into decisionmaking on common-core implementation.
