Utah State Office of Education and Qwest Foundation Team to Reward Innovative Teachers Throughout Utah with Tech Grants

Qwest Granting $50,000 for Teachers’ Technology Improvements in Utah

 

 

SALT LAKE CITY, OCT. 27, 2009 – The Utah State Office of Education (USOE) today announced the Qwest Foundation’s Teachers and Technology grant program, which for the fourth year in a row will offer funds that allow Utah teachers to provide vital technology for their classrooms. Qwest is providing a $50,000 donation that will help fund innovative technology so that individual teachers across the state can improve education in the classroom. The grants will be administered by the USOE.

 

The purpose of the Qwest Teachers and Technology grant program is to recognize and reward public school teachers who use innovative technology in the classroom to improve the educational experience for students. The competitive grant applications must be postmarked by midnight December 18, 2009. Grant information and the application/forms can be found at http://my.uen.org/39 (Qwest grant tab).

 

“We are fortunate to have Quest Foundation’s Teachers and Technology program in Utah,” said Utah State Superintendent of Public Instruction Larry K. Shumway. “The program allows great teachers to leverage their lessons through the innovative use of technology.”

 

Mindy Hintze from Granite Peaks Learning Center’s sSTEP II Program was one of last year’s grant recipients. The Qwest Foundation grant funded an innovative proposal using claymation and video production equipment for troubled kids. The program is designed to use technology in order to teach team work, create real-world employment skills and to provide experience using advanced technology.

 

“The Qwest Foundation has dedicated itself to helping improve education in the communities where our customers and employees live and work,” said Jerry Fenn, Qwest’s president for Utah. “The Qwest Teachers and Technology grant program lets teachers find creative ways to bring technology into the classroom, and better prepare students to compete and to succeed in an increasingly technology-driven world.”

 

About Utah State Office of Education

The Utah State Office of Education focuses on the Utah State Board of Education’s goals to ensure literacy and numeracy for all Utah children, provide high quality instruction in all classrooms, establish curriculum with high standards and relevance and require assessment to inform instruction and provide accountability.

 

About the Qwest Foundation:

The Qwest Foundation’s core principle is that investing in education provides lasting value for the future. The Qwest Foundation awards grants to community-based programs that generate high-impact and measurable results, focusing on pre K-12 education.

 

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Utah State Office of Education Contact:

Mark Peterson

Director, Public Relations, USOE

801-538-7635

mark.peterson@schools.utah.gov

 

Qwest Contact:                              

Mark Molzen 

Regional Public Relations Manager                      

602.630.8224                                   

mark.molzen@qwest.com