The Arkansas Department of Education is requesting funding proposals from full-time public and private school teachers for the 2002-03 Christa McAuliffe Fellowship Program. The program is funded through a United States Department of Education grant to the Council of Chief State School Officers and honors the late Sharon Christa McAuliffe, the teacher who served as an astronaut on the Challenger Space Shuttle in January 1986. The Christa McAuliffe Fellowship Program is a federal program that rewards teaching excellence.
For the 2002-03 school year, one or more fellowships will be awarded contingent upon the character and quality of the applications and the final selection panel. One of the selected fellowships ranges from approximately $1,000 to $26,000. The purpose of the award is to enable and encourage outstanding teachers to continue their education or to develop educational projects and programs.
Background information on the program and an official application form are attached. Application forms for these awards must be received at the Arkansas Department of Education by 4:30 p.m. on Friday, March 1, 2002. The awards will be announced by April 19, 2002. One of the selected teachers will be designated as the primary Fellow. The primary Fellow will represent the State at the annual conference of Christa McAuliffe Fellows in Washington, D.C., in July, 2002.
Please notify the teachers in your schools that this outstanding opportunity is available by sharing the attached information. In order for a teacher to be eligible for the fellowship, the teacher/applicant must be a citizen or permanent resident of Arkansas, expected to be under contract to teach during the 2002-03 school year, have been employed as a teacher for eight (8) or more years, and plan to return to a teaching position in his/her current place of employment for at least two (2) years following the award.
Christa McAuliffe Fellowship Application
ATTN: Brenda Turner, Coordinator, Room 107-A
Note: The attachments will be delivered in the next bulk mailing.