Cannon County Educators from Short Mountain School, West Side School, Woodbury Grammar School, Woodland School, and Director William F. Curtis celebrate receiving Governor’s Civics Seal mini-grants promoting life-long civic engagement in schools and districts across the state.
Today, Governor Bill Lee and Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn awarded 21 Governor’s Civics Seal mini-grants promoting life-long civic engagement in schools and districts across the state. Five of those grants are coming to Cannon County.
“Teaching civics to our students is a key priority of my administration, and I’m pleased to see this initiative is taking shape,” said Governor Bill Lee. “Thanks to these new resources, we can better prepare our students in the classroom and in life for what it means to be a citizen of this great nation.”
Pictured with Governor Bill Lee receiving $5,000.00 Governor’s Civics Seal Mini Grants are representatives from Short Mountain School, Woodbury Grammar School, and West Side School.
The mini-grants allocate $220,000 to support public schools and districts implementing high-quality civic education programs that result in readiness for college, career, and civic life. The grants will be used in the 2020-21 school year to fund programs that include:
1. Promoting life-long civic engagement by providing access to high-quality, standards-based civics resources;
2. Establishing civics programs in rural and urban schools and districts;
3. Supporting highly effective educators through civics-based professional development; and
4. Preparing schools and districts to earn the Governor’s Civics Seal.
“We are very excited for this great program that aligns with our priorities coming to students and classrooms across the state,” Commissioner Schwinn said. “Our Best for All strategic plan calls for providing teachers and students with access to high-quality instructional materials and focusing on supporting the whole child development, including through opportunities to become more civically engaged, and this program will help us do just that.”
Pictured with Governor Bill Lee and Commissioner Penny Schwinn receiving a $10,000.00 Governor’s Civics Seal Mini Grants are representatives from Woodland School.
“We are ecstatic regarding the receiving of these Governor’s Civics Seal mini-grants for our School District, as well as, School Grants for Short Mountain School, West Side School, Woodbury Grammar School, and Woodland School,” Director of Cannon County Schools, William F. Cutis, stated. “As a Social Studies educator and former US Government, Sociology, and AP US Government Teacher at Cannon County High School, I very much have promoted Civics Education, and know that these funds will assist us in enhancing and utilizing high-quality civics education programs in all Cannon County Schools. I am especially appreciative to Woodland Social Studies Teacher Mr. Brian Parker and Woodbury Grammar ELA/Social Studies Teacher Mr. Jeff Todd for their many hours of tireless work on the District Grant, working on their individual school grants, as well as, assisting all the other Cannon County Schools in writing their grants. These funds will enable us to purchase additional Chromebooks for student use to access fantastic civics programs and information. I asked all Cannon County Schools to apply for these grants, and four of our seven schools were successful! Five out of the twenty-one grants or $40,000.00 out of the total state allocation of $220,000.00 will go toward Cannon County Students’ Civics Education! This is one of my proudest moments as Director of Cannon County Schools, because these funds will directly impact our students’ civic engagement!”
The recipients of the Governor’s Civics Seal mini-grants are:
School-Level Grants ($5,000)
· Glencliff High School
· Ivy Academy
· Short Mountain Elementary School
· Soddy Daisy Middle School
· Unaka High School
· West Side Elementary
· Woodbury Grammar School
School-Level Grants ($10,000)
· Chattanooga Charter Schools of Excellence
· Perry County High School
· Smyrna High School
· South Fulton Middle High School
· Woodland Elementary School
District-Level Grants ($15,000)
· Cannon County School District
· Claiborne County Schools
· Collierville Municipal School District
· Hamilton County Schools
· Knox County Schools
· Shelby County Schools
· Stewart County Schools
· Warren County School District
· Washington County Schools
Governor’s Civics Seal Mini-Grant recipients were selected through a rigorous and competitive application process. Districts and schools submitted applications outlining the strengths of their current civics programming. Additionally, applicants presented a proposal to illustrate how the school or district would utilize grant funds to provide high-quality standards-based civics resources, establish civics programming, provide civics-based professional development for teachers, and/or prepare schools and districts to earn the Governor’s Civics Seal. A committee reviewed and scored all applications with a rubric evaluating qualifications, impact strategies, and needs identification. Mini-grants were awarded to top scoring applicants based on the Governor’s Civics Seal Evaluation Framework.