In May, we celebrated the conclusion of the Foundation’s Closing the Achievement Gaps grant funding in Milwaukee. It was an opportunity to look back at the progress these educators have made, learn from the challenges they faced, and offer our ongoing support for the continuation of this important work.

We funded the proposal from the Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association and Milwaukee Public Schools because their plan focused on intensive professional development for teachers. It also mirrored the Foundation’s core belief that teachers play a critical role in increasing rates of achievement for all students and that they must be the agents of change, not just the objects of it.

With the help of a grant from the NEA Foundation, Lorette Vacchiano and elementary students from the Norristown Area School District in Pennsylvania are sharing the good news about healthy living. They created the Healthy Times student newspaper to teach students in seven schools about health and to address social issues like bullying.

Students have improved their writing, reading, and interview skills. They have learned from professional reporters from the Philadelphia Inquirer and created their own newscast.

For the last two years, we have supported a digital arts literacy program in South Africa with our friends at the Pearson Foundation. Through this program students are learning to write, shoot, and edit their own films about issues, such as HIV/Aids and drug abuse, in their communities.