Teachers Network awards:
Lesson plans reap many dividends

Dec 17, 2009 3:25 PM

More than 80 UFTers were honored by Teachers Network.

A cornucopia of award-winning lesson plans designed by New York City public school teachers are available for free and are just a mouse click away.

These 2009 grant winners were honored by the nonprofit group Teachers Network on Nov. 24 at McGraw-Hill in Manhattan for creating lesson units that raise student performance and are engaging no matter the subject or grade level. What’s more, the units help teachers integrate Web-based lessons into the classroom.

Renny Fong from PS 130 in Manhattan created a lesson called “A Digital Family Tree Trip Through Time.”

“Teachers Network has given me a voice in teaching that I didn’t know I had,” Fong said.

More than 80 teachers, all UFT members, were honored either for winning grants or for being selected, out of many applicants, to participate in programs such as the network’s Leadership Institute Metlife Fellows, for research articles that address the direct link between policy making and its effects on student learning.

UFTers (from left) Julie Cavanaugh of Brooklyn’s PS 15, Lyntonia Coston of Brooklyn Community Arts and Media HS and Renny Fong of Manhattan’s PS 130 were featured in a documentary “Teachers on Teaching.”

Two such honorees were Julie Cavanaugh of PS 15 in Brooklyn and Lyntonia Coston of Brooklyn Community Arts and Media HS.

Cavanaugh is working on a case study that examines the impact of school choice on families and communities.

Coston’s research focuses on how

sharing progress reports with parents and students can affect academic progress.

“The network of people I was fortunate to meet continues to renew my teaching spirit,” Coston said.

The three UFTers — Fong, Cavanaugh and Coston — were featured in a documentary that was the highlight of the ceremony. “Teachers on Teaching,” by Ellen Dempsey, president and CEO of Teachers Network, is narrated by actor Cynthia Nixon. The documentary focuses on educators from around the country and reveals ways of keeping good teachers in the profession.

The fete lauded winners from all categories, including winners of TeachNet Grants such as Disseminator Grants and Adaptor Grants, Metlife Fellows and the TeachNet Institute.

Find lesson plans, the winners and more info

For more on 2010 grants and programs and how to apply, go to www.teachersnetwork.org.

For great lesson plans and the names of UFTers who won, click on Grants on the blue button on the left side of the page. Then click on 2009 Teacher Grant Winners on the left, as well as the button beneath it, 2009 Adaptor Grant Winners.