Energy Education Grants Target California Teachers

Sacramento, California [RenewableEnergyAccess.com] Energy education is becoming as common as math and science in the classroom, and teachers in California can win a bit of direct market support. British Petroleum (BP) America announced the 2005 “A+ for Energy” grant program, which will awards $2 million in grants and scholarships to California K-12 teachers who implement creative educational programs that teach energy basics and energy conservation.

“The A+ for Energy grant was developed to directly support teachers and allow them the opportunity to teach through innovation a very important subject in California — energy,” said Irene Brown, director of California community relations for BP America. “Teachers have told us that without A+ for Energy, they would not have the resources to adequately support the teaching of this curriculum. Teachers are using state-of-the-art educational resources to teach students how energy is involved in everyday life.” BP encourages teachers to think outside of the box when creating their proposals. The 2004 A+ for Energy grants have allowed schools across California to turn food scraps into ethanol, create solar-powered cars, hold energy festivals, cook hot dogs with solar power and build solar-powered hot water systems. BP partners with the National Energy Education Development (NEED) Project to support energy education in California schools by supplying course content and curriculum that is aligned with state standards for the core subject areas of science, math and social studies for all grades. As part of its A+ for Energy program, BP will award grant recipients with a scholarship to attend a five-day training conference hosted by the NEED Project to be held in California in July and August 2005. The all-inclusive scholarship will cover travel, meals and lodging expenses as well as a NEED Science of Energy Kit. The kit includes classroom tools and materials to help educators teach energy. “We were extremely impressed with the creativity of last year’s applicants and winners. 1,075 teachers received grants and scholarships to teach energy curriculum in various subject areas such as science, math, reading and language arts,” Brown said. “Last year we received applications from teachers in 49 counties. Our goal this year is to have teachers apply from every school district in the state.” Any K-12 teacher currently teaching in a California public or private school is eligible to submit an application. The submission deadline is April 4, 2005, and winners will be announced by June 7, 2005. For an application visit the link below or call 1-714-228-6760 for more information. A+ for Energy applications will be reviewed and selected by an independent panel comprised of California state educational and environmental non-governmental-organization leaders. The grants are presented directly to teachers who submit creative classroom, after-school, extra-curricular or summer activities focused on energy education and/or energy conservation, in increments of $5,000 or $10,000.