GTE awards $720,000 to 120 teachers in 27 states to promote excellence in math and science education

STAMFORD, Conn. -- GTE Corp. today awarded grants totaling $720,000 to 120 math and science teachers selected from 27 states. The grant is part of GTE's Growth Initiatives For Teachers (GIFT) program, an effort designed to strengthen math and science education in grades 6-12.

Through the annual GIFT program, 60 teams consisting of one math and one science teacher from the same school are awarded a grant of $12,000. Individual GIFT teachers receive $2,500 for professional development activities, and the two-member team receives $7,000 to implement an innovative classroom project. Grants are awarded for the 1998-99 school year.

"The GIFT initiative is important to our nation's math and science classrooms for two reasons," said Maureen V. Gorman, vice president of the GTE Foundation. "It significantly boosts teachers' enthusiasm for teaching and also increases student achievement by providing hands-on learning opportunities."

The 1998 GIFT projects will provide thousands of students across the country with a wide range of learning opportunities, such as a molecular biology project linking genetics, mathematics and technology in Norwood, Ohio; the exploration of human motion via calculus and physics in Salem, Ore; and the design and construction of a model urban nature park in Hallandale, Fla.

Teachers to Visit Boston and Nation's Capital

A key component of the GIFT award is an annual seminar conducted in June in Boston, Mass. and Washington, D.C. The seminar will include sessions at GTE Laboratories, Museum of Science in Boston, U.S. Department of Education and the Smithsonian Institution. Teachers will also meet with their Congressional representatives along with officials from the Annenberg/CPB Math and Science Project and the Woodrow Wilson National Foundation.

GTE established the GIFT program in 1983 to recognize excellence in the teaching of secondary-school mathematics and science. Launched as a pilot program in North Carolina, the program now includes 35 states and the District of Columbia. Since its inception, the program has awarded approximately $9 million to some 1,600 teachers.

Grant recipients are chosen by a panel of mathematics and science educators under the guidance of the Educational Testing Service of Princeton, N.J., and the GTE Foundation, GTE's philanthropic arm, which administers and funds the program.

Ranking among the country's top corporate foundations in annual contributions, the GTE Foundation in 1998 will provide more than $27 million in financial support to educational and charitable organizations in the United States and its possessions on behalf of GTE and its subsidiaries. GTE is one of the world's largest telecommunications companies and a leading provider of integrated telecommunications services.

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A list of winning teachers and their projects will be provided upon request.