New Program to Tap Urban School Classroom Talent

Teachers Get 'Creative' Grants to Help Students Show What They Can Do 

WASHINGTON, Oct. 9 -- Disney Learning Partnership has awarded $215,000 in grants to 118 schoolteachers in six of the nation's largest urban public school systems in a new collaborative, pilot program with the Council of the Great City Schools.

 Disney established the Creative Classroom Fund to help teachers develop innovative instructional projects that actively engage students in learning, giving inner-city schoolchildren a chance to demonstrate what they know and can do when given the opportunity.

 The Creative Classroom Fund has awarded grants from $1,000 to $2,000 directly to middle and high school teachers in Chicago (29), Houston (10), Los Angeles (41), Miami (12), New York (13) and Philadelphia (13)

 "Teachers will use these grants to help students understand the power of learning to solve real-world problems that have meaning beyond the classroom," says Council Executive Director Michael Casserly. "The projects they create will provide educators, parents and the society with evidence of urban children's enormous capacity to develop and apply new knowledge."

 "These projects will promote student achievement and enable students to produce tangible expressions of their learning," says Disney Learning Partnership Executive Director Laurie Lang.  "We plan to showcase nationally the most compelling examples of  teacher instructional creativity and students' work."

 The Council of the Great City Schools is the only organization in the nation exclusively representing the needs of urban public schools. The coalition represents 56 big-city school systems.

 Disney Learning Partnership is a philanthropic initiative of the Walt Disney Company, supporting innovative and engaging approaches to learning that promote student success.