McCarthey Dressman Education Foundation Awards $180,000 in Grants and Scholarships for the 2010/2011 Academic Year

Cutting-Edge, Collaborative and Global Projects Include a Complete Music
Education Program Using the iPad; Bronx Science Program Networked Worldwide: a
Solar Power Computer Lab, Destination Tanzania; iPad-Based Curriculum for a
Charter School
SALT LAKE CITY--(Business Wire)--
Professor Sarah J. McCarthey, President of the McCarthey Dressman Education
Foundation,has announced the 2010/2011 academic year recipients of the
Foundation`s Academic Enrichment Grants, Teacher Development Grants and
Scholarships.

The Foundation funded four Academic Enrichment Grants at two high schools and
two middle schools with disadvantaged, predominantly minority students; four
Teacher Development Grants at a middle school, a rural school and two charter
schools; and four student teacher scholarships.

Professor McCarthey remarked, "The projects are noteworthy for their conceptual
sophistication, their significance within and beyond the classroom, their
collaborative focus and creative incorporation of technology as a learning and
communication tool. Technology plays a major role across a spectrum of subjects
from music, the arts and writing to math and science and provides a means to
connect, share, and exchange ideas and results with other teachers, students,
family and communities in the U.S. and abroad."

Academic Enrichment Grantees: Douglas Edwards, Riverdale, Georgia; Tabitha
Hargrove, Bronx, New York; Bethany Kirkpatrick, Westbrook, Maine; Benjamin
Vazquez, Santa Ana, California.

Teacher Development Grantees: Paul Bailey, Hemet, California; Libby Duggan,
Indianapolis, Indiana; Sabrina Flamoe, Portland, Oregon; Connie Walser,
Burlington, Washington.

Scholarship Recipients: Laura Beatty, West Virginia University; Helen Bolen, New
Mexico State University; Nicole Sophia Ochoa, New Mexico State University; Son
Tran, University of Texas, Austin.

"Academic Enrichment Grants integrated hands-on learning with a focus on real
issues and problems into their overall objective of improving individual
academic performance," noted McCarthey. "Of significance is the development of
collaborative efforts that bring students from different backgrounds in a single
school together, and in leveraging both local and global alliances." In the
"Science for the Community" program at a Bronx Middle School, for example,
students will interface with the GLOBE Program, a worldwide network of students,
teachers and scientists working together to study and understand the
environment.

In addition to the Bronx science project which turns students into community
change agents by putting them in the role of researchers, innovators, advocates
and entrepreneurs working to solve problems in their communities, Academic
Enrichment Grants were awarded to a "Solar Power Computer Lab" to be developed
at a high school in Georgia and then sent to a student laptop computer lab in
rural Tanzania; "See My Song. Hear My Voice," a complete music education program
using the iPad; and a "Holistic Approach to Research and Writing" in Chicano
studies.

McCarthey also applauded the innovative applications of technology in the
Teacher Development Grants as well as their commitment to provide integrated
educational environments in which teachers are not separated by academic content
and students no longer compartmentalize learning. "The teamwork among teachers
of different levels of experience, expertise and specialization who will model
and learn from each other will significantly contribute to the quality of
teaching and learning," commented McCarthey.

Teacher Development Grants include the development of an iPad curriculum for use
in a charter middle school in core subject areas as well as in field ecology,
paleontology, archaeology, biology, environmental science, Latin and
engineering; "Teachers as Writing Mentors," a K-8 collaborative
teaching/learning curriculum; Project Go! based on the project lab classroom
model; and "Improving the Quality of Teaching & Learning" in a rural school by
creating a paradigm shift through intensive teacher collaboration, team teaching
and an inclusive curriculum that integrates social studies content with reading
and writing.

THE McCARTHEY DRESSMAN EDUCATION FOUNDATION is dedicated to serving students and
teachers in developing interests, strategies and skills needed to enhance
society. The Foundation recognizes the struggle educators too often face in
bringing exceptional teaching to their students. Ever-tightening budgets and
skyrocketing technology and supply costs now make it more difficult than ever
for educators in all areas -- k-12, after school, and advanced study -- to
introduce new programs and projects to children who need them most. To that end,
the Foundation awards grants and scholarships to those projects and/or
initiatives with significant potential to enrich the educational experiences for
all children. Application deadline for grants and scholarships is May 1 of each
year: www.mccartheydressman.org.

MKL Public Relations
Mary Kay Lazarus, 801-209-3029
mkl@mklpr.com

Copyright Business Wire 2010