September 26, 2006 > District receives environmental grant

by Rick LaPlante

The New Haven Unified School District will receive more than $26,000 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for environmental education, it was announced last Wednesday.

At a press conference in San Francisco, NOAA announced the awarding of 17 education grants totaling nearly $700,000 to Bay Area schools and non-profit groups. The grants, part of NOAA's Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) program, will support environmental education projects on NOAA's Gulf of  the Farallones and Cordell Bank national marine sanctuaries, located off the Central California coast.

New Haven will receive a $26,010 grant for a project entitled "Bringing Sciences to Life for Students, Teachers and Community," headed by Cabello Elementary School teacher Kim Pratt, a veteran of NOAA's Teacher at Sea program. Pratt attended the event at the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary office, near Golden Gate Bridge, accompanied by several of her students.

Pratt, who secured the grant in partnership with Teresa Golebiewska, senior project manager/grants for the District, wants to engage students in learning science and environment protection of the San Francisco Bay watershed by providing teachers with professional development in the area of marine science education.

"This is another example of the wonderful work that New Haven teachers are doing, day in and day out, for their students," Superintendent Dr. Pat Jaurequi said. "Kim's enthusiasm and Teresa's expertise made this grant possible, and children across our district are going to benefit."

Carnell Edwards, Associate Superintendent for Education Services, said he hopes more grants are on the way. In June, James Logan High School received a $290,000 grant from the California Department of Education to develop a biotechnology academy. Several other proposals are pending.

"Part of our work in supporting teaching and learning is identifying resources and pursuing and securing them," he said. "These grants, we hope, are just the start."