McAuliffe scholarships go for 3rd round
The Public School System is still seeking for seven more applicants for the Christa McAuliffe teacher’s scholarship to complete a total of 10 awards it is set to give away for qualified CNMI teachers.
Federal Programs Coordinator Bill Matson said PSS is going for a third round in its information dissemination drive in light of the low application turn-ins in the past couple of months.
PSS attributes to the lack of interest among teachers to apply for the scholarship to very busy schedules.
“But this is staff development and they could attend summer institutes in the states through this scholarship. I wish I knew what the real problem is. If I did, we’d try to fix it,” said Mr. Matson.
He added that with regards to the application process, applying for the scholarship is not at all “laborious.”
Some teachers who have expressed desire to participate have submitted a minimum of two pages program proposals.
McAuliffe scholars will be awarded federal dollars to be used for either classroom or staff development projects, including assessment projects which must be completed by the end of the school year.
Each qualified teacher will receive $2,500 to be expended for certain projects of their choice.
The grant is named after an American school teacher who died aboard a space challenger which exploded back in the late 1980s.
Recently, Erlinda Arriola (San Vicente Elementary School), Escolastica Iguel (SVES), Dorothy Haws (Marianas High School), and Beth Nepaial received notification of proposal approvals from PSS.
Although ten fellows must be awarded, PSS must select one to represent the CNMI at the annual Summer meeting in Washington, DC in 2001. (MM)
