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STEMester of Service e-Newsletter Vol. 3 #1

   
Greetings and welcome to STEMester of Service 2011-2012!

We hope that the start of the new school year has gone well for you and your students.  We look forward to connecting with each of you at the Youth Service Institute (YSI) next week in Philadelphia (my hometown!).  For new and veteran grantees alike, YSI will offer many opportunities to share insights, learn from one another, and network. We are bringing back some of last year's favorite components -- the off-site service projects and the presentations by veteran teachers -- and we believe that the institute will enable all of us to build a strong foundation for this year's STEMester of Service professional development community and gain a better understanding of the scope of the youth service movement. 

New this year:  We will have 75 teachers!  STEMester of Service continues to grow, as a result of your mentee partnerships.  At the same time, you will be joined by 25 Sodexo School Engagement grantee teachers.  This new YSA program was modeled on the successes of the STEMester of Service program.  While each of you will be focused on environmental service-learning programs with your STEM-related classes, our Sodexo grantees are focused on alleviating childhood hunger with academic content focused on Language Arts, Civics, and Social Studies.

For more information about the Youth Service Institute, including this year's agenda, please visit http://ysa.org/institute.

We also wanted to let you know about some additional grant opportunities that are available to your schools and your colleagues.  Please share these opportunities with your networks?  If you have any questions about these opportunities or about YSI, please let me know at sguy@ysa.org.

We are excited to see you all next week and wish you safe travels to Philadelphia!
           

Grants and Competitions 


State Farm Good Neighbor Service-Learning Grants 
YSA (Youth Service America) is proud to team up with State Farm in a dynamic partnership to offer grants of up to $1,000 for the promotion of service-learning projects in K-12 public schools in all fifty US states and the District of Columbia, and in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Ontario and New Brunswick. 

Each grant will engage participating youth in service-learning, an effective teaching and learning strategy that promotes student learning, academic achievement, workplace readiness, and stronger communities. The State Farm Good Neighbor Service-Learning Grants encourage semester-long projects (a Semester of Service) that launch on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service (January 16, 2012) and culminate on Global Youth Service Day (April 20-22, 2012).

 

Up to 125 grants will be awarded; at least 10-15 grants will support projects addressing teen driver safety issues.

 

Application Deadline:  Wednesday, November 9th, 2011.   

Learn more at www.YSA.org/goodneighbor.

 
Extended Deadline:  UnitedHealth HEROES Service-Learning Grants

The UnitedHealth HEROES program is a service-learning, health literacy initiative developed by UnitedHealthcare and YSA (Youth Service America). The program awards grants to help youth, ages 5-25, create and implement local, hand-on programs to fight childhood obesity


These grants encourage semester-long projects that launch on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service (January 16, 2012) and culminate on Global Youth Service Day (April 20-22, 2012).
 
Schools, service-learning coordinators, after-school programs, non-profits, and students in the health professions located in all 50 states and the District of Columbia are eligible to apply for the $500-$1,000 grants. Grant applications will be reviewed and selected on a state-by-state basis, and there will be grants awarded in every state.
 
Applications must be submitted online before midnight next Monday, October 23, 2011. 
To obtain an application, visit www.YSA.org/HEROES.

 

Especially for you:
The Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge
The Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge is a project-based sustainability competition that encourages student teams, working with a teacher/mentor, to identify environmental issues of concern and create sustainable, reproducible improvements in their local communities.  Teams and mentors can win more than $100,000 in savings bonds and prizes.

Last year, STEMester of Service grantee Lani Bowman and her students at Kohala Middle School in Kapaau, HI were the first place winners of the middle school level challenge. 

We believe each of you would be a strong applicant, and encourage you to apply.



With appreciation,

Sarah Guy
Education Manager

Tel: 202-296-2992 ext. 110
sguy@ysa.org

Youth Service America
1101 15th Street NW
Suite 200
Washington, DC  20005-5002
www.ysa.org
  



This material is based upon work supported by the Corporation for National and Community Service under Learn and Serve America Grant No. 09KSADC002. Opinions or points of view expressed in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Corporation or the Learn and Serve America Program.