MONROE, La., May 14, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- This pandemic has
changed the way we are educating our children. Teachers across the
country have been challenged to find new ways to reach and teach
their students and technology is the key. To support innovative
learning and educational opportunities, CenturyLink is awarding
$500,000 to fund 114
technology-focused projects as part of the CenturyLink Clarke M.
Williams Foundation's 2019-20 Teachers and Technology grant
program.
"Our goal with these grants is to help teachers expose students
to STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) concepts
through the use of innovative equipment and projects," said
Stephanie Calhoun, CenturyLink vice
president of talent management. "Our teachers and students have
faced so many challenges this spring with closures and adapting to
distance and online classes. These CenturyLink grants will help
teachers reach and teach. It helps them bring useful technology
into everyday learning."
Once states deem it safe for children to return to school, it
will be important to have the right technology in place for them to
learn again in the classroom. Grants funded through the 2019-20
program will be distributed to schools in the fall to provide a
range of equipment including robotics, drones, virtual reality
mechanisms, laptops, microscopes and more. View a complete list of
the 2019-20 CenturyLink Teachers and Technology Grant recipients
here.
Shawn Tolley, a music and dance
teacher at Stevens Elementary in Spokane,
Wash., is a past grant recipient. He used the funding to
purchase color sensors so his students could make original music
and 3-D printers to create dioramas for narrative story telling.
"Our CenturyLink grant allowed us to engage students in a whole new
way," stated Tolley. "They were able to take their most imaginative
ideas and turn them into fantastic creations they would never have
thought possible before."
The Teachers and Technology program, which has distributed
more than $11 million since its
inception, awards grants of up to $5,000 per project to schools in CenturyLink's
local service and corporate locations in support of projects
submitted by pre-K through 12th grade teachers to
innovatively implement technology in their classrooms.
Key Facts
- Across the United States, more
than 300 grant applications were submitted to the grants program
and 114 were awarded based on the impact they will have on students
in the classroom and the overall innovation of the project.
- The CenturyLink Teachers and Technology grant program, which
began in 2008, has awarded more than $11
million to technology-based learning projects to date.
- CenturyLink service is neither required nor considered in the
review of applications.
About the CenturyLink Foundation
CenturyLink
improves the lives of our customers by connecting them to the
power of the digital world. CenturyLink extends this vision through
the CenturyLink Clarke M. Williams Foundation, a 501(c)(3)
organization dedicated to contributing to endeavors that improve
the well-being and overall quality of life for people throughout
CenturyLink's communities. Named after CenturyLink's founder Clarke
M. Williams, the Foundation is endowed by CenturyLink to
support K-12 STEM education and other initiatives that
encourage our employees to use their time, talents and treasure to
strengthen their communities.
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SOURCE CenturyLink, Inc.