NEA, AFT Teachers To Build Common-Core Tools
Guest post by Catherine Gewertz
The two national teachers' unions have won $11 million to build an online warehouse of instructional tools for the Common Core State Standards. Student Achievement Partners, whose founders led the writing of the standards, is also a grantee. It will work with the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Associationand their teachers to build the tools and post them on Student Achievement Partners' website.
Announced today, the three-year project joins many similar efforts focused on the common standards, which are being implemented now in 46 states and the District of Columbia. One of the recent higher-profile cases in point is ShareMyLesson.com, an online instructional-tools portal being built by the AFT.
The grant came from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, which is supported by New York City hotel magnate Leona Helmsley. The 13-year-old philanthropy is seeking to expand its work in education, noting on its website that its education program area "is in transition and is now funding programs of national significance in K-12 and higher education." A search of its education grants since 2000 shows only a few over $1 million, so the $11 million award to SAP, NEA and AFT represents a major investment in that area for the trust.
Rich McKeon, Helmsley's education program director, said in a press release that the philanthropy "applauds
The two national teachers' unions have won $11 million to build an online warehouse of instructional tools for the Common Core State Standards. Student Achievement Partners, whose founders led the writing of the standards, is also a grantee. It will work with the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Associationand their teachers to build the tools and post them on Student Achievement Partners' website.
Announced today, the three-year project joins many similar efforts focused on the common standards, which are being implemented now in 46 states and the District of Columbia. One of the recent higher-profile cases in point is ShareMyLesson.com, an online instructional-tools portal being built by the AFT.
The grant came from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, which is supported by New York City hotel magnate Leona Helmsley. The 13-year-old philanthropy is seeking to expand its work in education, noting on its website that its education program area "is in transition and is now funding programs of national significance in K-12 and higher education." A search of its education grants since 2000 shows only a few over $1 million, so the $11 million award to SAP, NEA and AFT represents a major investment in that area for the trust.
Rich McKeon, Helmsley's education program director, said in a press release that the philanthropy "applauds