NOAA ACCEPTING GRANT APPLICATIONS FOR K-12 ENVIRONMENTAL LITERACY PROJECTS

NOAA's Office of Education is now accepting applications for environmental literacy projects in support of K-12 education. Funded projects will have a duration of one and five years and will promote changes in K-12 education to expand the amount of earth system science taught in the classroom and improve student learning of the subject.

Successful projects will catalyze change in K-12 education through development of new programs, materials, revision of existing programs and/or materials by supporting transformative methods that expand the use of earth system science in K-12 classrooms. Projects are encouraged to further the use of earth system science concepts, such as the concepts articulated in the ocean literacy essential principles and fundamental concepts.

Pre-proposals are required and are due Wednesday, November 29, 2006. Full proposals are due Wednesday, March 21, 2007. Please visit http://www.oesd.noaa.gov/funding_opps.html for the full announcement and additional information. This funding opportunity's ID on grants.gov is SEC-OED-2007-2000863.

All projects shall employ the relevant strategies articulated in the NOAA Education Plan and should be implemented at a state or multi-state level and have evaluations that fully assess the strengths and weaknesses of the proposed project. It is anticipated that final recommendations for funding under this announcement will be made by June 30, 2007, and that projects funded under this announcement will have a start date no earlier than September 15, 2007.

Projects might focus on the education of pre-service teachers or the professional development for in-service teachers where it supports the creation and retention of highly qualified teachers and/or the development of new, or modification of existing K-12 curricula and related instructional materials. Projects focusing on pre-service education of teachers should involve colleges of education or other entities that provide pre-service teacher education. Projects regarding inservice teacher professional development should involve state departments of education and/or school districts as appropriate. Projects focusing on the development of new, or modification of existing, curricula and related instructional materials should be able to demonstrate how they will address the relevant state standards, support state or national assessments, and be disseminated at the state or multi-state level.

Projects on free-choice learning or development of new data visualizations and platforms will not be considered for funding through this announcement.

In 2007 NOAA, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, celebrates 200 years of science and service to the nation. Starting with the establishment of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey in 1807 by Thomas Jefferson much of America's scientific heritage is rooted in NOAA. The agency is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and information service delivery for transportation, and by providing environmental stewardship of the nation's coastal and marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners, more than 60 countries and the European Commission to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts and protects.

On the Web:

NOAA: http://www.noaa.gov

NOAA Office of Education: http://www.oesd.noaa.gov

NOAA Education Plan: http://www.oesd.noaa.gov/NOAA_Ed_Plan.pdf

Ocean Literacy Essential Principles and Fundamental Concepts:
http://www.coexploration.org/oceanliteracy/documents/OceanLitConcepts_10.11.05.pdf