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ROCKETING AHEAD
"A Chance to Learn," the ninth installment in the "Reading Rockets: Launching Young Readers" series on PBS, showcases schools and districts with outstanding programs for students with disabilities. The program also can be watched in online streaming video by visiting www.readingrockets.org. The show is hosted by actress Molly Ringwald and includes case studies from Albuquerque, N.M., Athens, Ga., Burnsville, Minn., and Denton and Fort Worth, Texas. "A Chance to Learn" is produced by the Washington, D.C., PBS affiliate WETA and Reading Rockets, a national multimedia project to promote early reading.
ISO SMART, SENSITIVE KIDS
The AXA Foundation and U.S. News & World Report will again offer the AXA Achievement Scholarships, recognizing students who are helping improve their communities. Dec. 15 is the deadline for applications, which may be submitted at www.axa-achievement.com. Now in its sixth year, AXA Achievement Scholarships offer a total of $670,000 in scholarships to students across the nation. One-time scholarships of up to $15,000 are available, along with AXA internship opportunities.
RETIRING WOMEN
The Heinz Family Philanthropies and the Women's Institute for a Secure Retirement are offering "What Women Need to Know About Retirement," a free online book. Covered in the chapters are such matters as making a lifetime money plan, investing in stocks and bonds, healthcare planning and Social Security. "What Women Need to Know About Retirement," which includes a foreword by Teresa Heinz Kerry, is available at www.womensretirement.org.
FIRST THINGS FIRST
High school students across the nation are invited to participate in an essay competition on religious freedom, its history and relevance in their lives. The competition, sponsored by the nonprofit First Freedom Center, offers prizes of $3,000, $1,500 and $750. This year's topic focuses on the First Amendment's definition of free exercise of religious freedom: What did this concept mean when it was first ratified, and how is it interpreted today? Essays should be 750 to 1,250 words and must cite at least four research sources. The online registration deadline is Nov. 26, with a postmark entry deadline of Dec. 1. For details, visit www.firstfreedom.org.
THE PERSONAL TOUCH
Nov. 15 will mark the 31st annual "Great American Smokeout," the American Cancer Society's national campaign to encourage smokers to take that first 24-hour tobacco-free step that can last a lifetime. Many new supports have been added to the ACS anti-smoking campaign over the years, and one of the most exciting is the Quitline support network. Studies show that smokers have a greater chance of successfully quitting if they participate in a personal counseling program; Quitline offers free phone-based encouragement and counseling in your area, along with tips on how to get support and encour-agement from family and friends. For details on Quitline, the Great American Smokeout and other resources, visit www.cancer.org.
SCORE WINNER
The Lois Bailey Glenn Awards, part of the American Music Education Initiative, honor lessons that make creative use of American music in K-12 classrooms. Teachers who are honored as finalists in the awards win $1,000 grants and semifinalists receive $500. Judges will consider entries in any subject, any grade and any type of American music. The entry deadline is typically in late December, and e-mail submissions are encouraged. For additional information on the awards, visit the American Music Education Initiative online, www.usamusic.com/amei.html.
BLUE KIDS GROUP
The Children's Health and Education Center has relaunched its www.bluekids.org Web site, a resource for health education that's geared to educators, parents and caregivers as well as teens and children. The site features articles crafted by Children's Hospital of Wisconsin experts, links to publica-tions, an e-learning program guide, classroom activities, a resource library and much more.
NEW FOR 2008
The United Auto Workers recently launched the online version of its popular car and truck buying guide for the 2008 model year. The free guide helps consumers support organized labor and the auto industry through information on which car and truck makes and models were built by union members in the United States and Canada. To download the guide, visit www.uaw.org and click the "2008 cars and trucks" button on the right side of the page.
CHARACTER AT WORK
Every year, the Character Education Partnership hails 10 schools, along with K-12 districts, for outstanding work in character education. Win-ning schools and districts receive a $20,000 award, half of which is used for outreach to other schools and districts. The honorees are buildings that exemplify CEP's "Eleven Principles of Effective Character Education." Award applications are due Dec. 3. To find out more about the National Schools of Character awards, visit www.character.org.
AMERICAN TRADITIONS
November is National American Indian Heritage Month, and the Library of Congress has compiled an interesting collection of online documents to help celebrate the occasion in the classroom. Go to the "American Memory" section of the online library, http://memory.loc.gov, and select Native American History in the topic section. You'll find a half-dozen searchable collections of documents that examine a cross section of topics, from turn-of-the-century photos by Edward Curtis to Omaha Indian music.
WINNING DRIVE
K-12 classroom teams are invited to choose a community agency or agencies and then score "points" by collecting and distributing items that the agencies need (Nov. 7-21). It's the first part of a new effort called the LEAGUE, a free and straightforward effort to involve students in helping others. The LEAGUE activities are linked to grade-specific curriculums; the program also offers 1,200 free "Learning to Give" lessons and links. To join, visit www.theleague.org.
SPUTNIK TURNS 50
The National Museum of American History recently launched a new virtual exhibit to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the launch of the Sputnik satellite. The "Mobilizing Minds: Teaching Math and Science in the Age of Sputnik" project is available for viewing at http://americanhistory.si.edu/mobilizing. It is a useful resource for students and teachers studying not only the launch of the first man-made object into space orbit but also the event's impact on the direction of education in the United States.
THE PRICE IS RIGHT
Blogging tools and school e-mail services are now free to educators through ePals, a company specializing in online communication for the K-12 education community. The company now offers free access to the SchoolMail e-mail service for schools and to SchoolBlog, which has won the Award of Excellence from Technology & Learning magazine. For details on these and other ePals services, visit www.epals.com.
