Charter Communications and Cable in the Classroom, a national organization supported by the cable industry, invites teachers, public officials and administrators who have created outstanding local education programs using technology and digital content to apply for the third annual Cable’s Leaders in Learning Awards.
In 2006, two Missouri-area leaders won Leaders in Learning Awards in separate categories. Eric Langhorst, a Liberty, Mo., eighth-grade American History teacher, was the lone winner in the Pushing the Envelope category. Langhorst developed 15- to 20-minute podcasts called “StudyCasts,” that provided students additional subject content and study review sessions, which dramatically improved test scores.
Missouri State Rep. Jane Cunningham was the other Show-Me-State award winner. Cunningham was honored in the Policymaker Excellence category for using high-speed Internet to create a “virtual school” for districts struggling to attract and retain teachers.
Cable’s Leaders in Learning Awards recognize compelling and innovative lesson plans, programs or policies that are transforming education in and out of the classroom. Educators and policy-makers are free to nominate their own programs or have them nominated independently. The Leaders in Learning Awards are given in five categories.
– General Excellence: For leaders who have demonstrated excellence in expanding and enhancing learning opportunities by employing a diversity of traditional and non-traditional approaches to producing measurable improvements in educational outcomes in formal or informal settings;
– Cable Partnerships for Learning: For leaders who are working in partnership with the cable industry to expand and enhance learning opportunities for children and youth in or out of the classroom;
– Pushing the Envelope: For leaders who redefine the education frontier through the use of cable technology and/or cable content;
– Policymaker Excellence: To recognize the contributions of state and local officials who conceive and execute programs that have significant positive effects on schools and students; and
– Media Literacy Education: In partnership with National PTA, to recognize leadership in advancing media literacy skills.
The awards will be judged by a panel of educational experts from across the nation. Winners receive a $3,000 cash prize in addition to an all-expense-paid trip to Washington in late spring 2007. While in Washington, D.C., award recipients will visit members of Congress to talk about their award-winning programs. They will attend a gala awards ceremony with policymakers, government officials, leaders of the national education community, cable industry executives and celebrities.
Applications are available online at www.leadersinlearningawards.org. The application period ends on December 15.