Best Buy Offers Support for Interactive Technology in K-12

The Best Buy te@ch program recognizes creative uses of interactive technology in K-12 classrooms. The purpose of te@ch is to reward schools for successful interactive programs they have launched using available technology. This year the program will provide more than $3.5 million in total awards to K-12 public, private, and parochial schools in the United States.

To be eligible, schools must be located within fifty miles of a Best Buy store. Accredited K-12 public, private, parochial, and nonprofit charter schools are eligible. Applications must be completed by educators who have been at the school for a minimum of one full academic year. Different educators from a single school may submit applications, but only one award per school will be granted.

Home schools, pre-K schools/programs, after-school programs, colleges, universities, and vocational-technical schools are not eligible.

Te@ch awards of $2,500 each will be given in recognition of up to 1,200 outstanding programs that engage students by creatively integrating interactive technology into the curriculum. The awards are $2,500 Best Buy Gift Cards.

Te@ch awards of $15,000 each will be granted to up to thirty-six schools that display the greatest creativity in their programs/projects and the clearest vision of how to increase the school's use of interactive technology through a $15,000 te@ch award. Te@ch awards of $15,000 are in addition to the $2,500 te@ch award given to the school and are presented in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card or spending account.

One $250,000 National te@ch Award will be announced in the summer of 2007. Each public school district that has a $15,000 te@ch award recipient will receive a Request for Proposal from Best Buy. The RFP must be completed by the school district to qualify for consideration for the national award. The recipient
of the national award will be selected on the basis of its submitted proposal. The $250,000 national award is in the form of a Best Buy spending account.

To apply to the Best Buy te@ch program educators must first register as an applicant and identify the Best Buy store within a fifty-mile radius of their school. Visit the program's Web site for complete application guidelines and procedures.

Deadline: September 30, 2006