"What Does Your Neighborhood Mean To You? National Neighborhood Day Short Film Contest"

"To promote National Neighborhood Day’s mission and vision, they are hosting a short film contest for both professional and amateur filmmakers to illustrate, through a 5-minute or less film, what their neighborhood means to them. This call for entries in the National Neighborhood Day Short Film Contest is open to K-12 students and adults. There is no entry fee for the Youth Category and the Grand Prize is $2000. The deadline for entries is June 1, 2005. For contest rules, entry form or to download a poster with further information for K-12 students," visit the website.

Virtual manipulatives aim to engage students in math education

"Created by a team of researchers and educators at Utah State University with support from the National Science Foundation, this new online library of interactive manipulatives is intended to help educators accomplish the often challenging task of engaging students in daily math lessons."

Workforce Opportunities Launched on NYDIC site

"A 'map' designed for youth workers to find staff development
opportunities in their geographic area is just being launched. Find out
where there are youth worker certificate, degree, practitioner
apprenticeship programs and more on the new 'map' of professional
development opportunities on the nydic.org website. The information on
the site is just the beginning and we invite you to complete the short
form and add your own information."

2005 Community Grants Program: The Beaumont Foundation

"The Beaumont Foundation of America is dedicated to enriching the lives of individuals by providing technology to historically underserved schools and communities. The 2005 Areas of Focus include: affordable housing; children's hospitals; college and university scholarship programs; faith-based initiatives; foster care and mentoring programs for children; homeless persons; people with disabilities; restart programs for released offenders; and senior citizens. Eligible applicants include city or township governments, county governments, independent school districts, special district governments, state governments, public, private, parochial, and charter schools, as well as hospitals, and nonprofit organizations."

After-School Programs Focus of National League of Cities Report

"A new report released by the D.C.-based National League of Cities ( http://nlc.org/home/ ) argues that engaged leadership on the part of mayors and city council members can yield big results through improvements in the quality of after-school programs."

New on the Shelf: Teens in the Library

Findings from the Evaluation of Public Libraries as Partners in Youth Development
2005, Julie Spielberger, Carol Horton, Lisa Michels

"Several trends have come together recently to intensify interest in how public libraries might best support the interests and needs of youth in their communities. This study reports on findings from the Public Libraries as Partners in Youth Development Initiative, a 3-year, 9-site initiative funded by The Wallace Foundation to develop innovative models for public libraries to provide high-quality educational enrichment and career development programs serving underserved low-income children and youth."

Mattel Launches New Domestic Grants Program

"Mattel and the Mattel Children's Foundation have announced the launch of a new Domestic Grants Program. The program will accept grant applications from charitable organizations throughout the United States that directly serve children in need. Grant awards will range between $5,000 and $25,000, depending on program, organization, and individual community need.... Applicant organizations must have 501(c)(3) public charity status. Funding priority is given to organizations or programs that creatively address a locally defined need directly impacting children in need and that align with Mattel's philanthropic priorities, which include health, education, and girls empowerment.... Grant applications will be accepted online during two funding cycles: Cycle I, January 1 - April 8, 2005; and Cycle II, July 1 - September 30, 2005."

Math, Science Performance Troubling

"The Business-Higher Education Forum (BHEF) has issued a report analyzing student performance on math and science assessments, and the news, says this organization of influential leaders, isn't good. "The most recent data about the performance of U.S. students in math and science is cause for deep concern," reports William H. Swanson, chairman and CEO of Raytheon Company and co-chair of the BHEF's Initiative on Mathematics and Science Education. The organization's recent report, "A Commitment to America's Future: Responding to the Crisis in Mathematics and Science Education," warns that America is at risk of losing its preeminence in math and science instruction. Read more on the BHEF Web site."

American Honda Foundation

"The American Honda Foundation makes grants to K-12 schools, colleges, universities, trade schools, and other youth-focused nonprofit organizations for programs that benefit youth and scientific education. Maximum Award: $10,000 -$100,000. Eligibility: Schools and youth-focused nonprofit organizations. Deadline: Grant applications are accepted four times per year: Nov. 1, Feb. 1, May 1, and Aug. 1."

Today's kids are 'media multitaskers'

From eSchool News staff and wire service reports
March 11, 2005

"The type of students today's educators are likely to encounter--and the kinds of challenges educators might face as they seek to engage those students in learning--may be seen in a new light, thanks to a survey released March 9 by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

In the past five years, many children's rooms have evolved into multimedia centers, with cable or satellite hookups, computers, and video game consoles, according to the Kaiser survey. For instance, 20 percent of youngsters age 8 to 18 can surf the web from their bedrooms, double the figure from 1999."

YouthLearn Contributes to NIOST's "Links To Learning"

Links To Learning is a new Curriculum Planning Guide developed by the National Institute on Out-of-School Time (NIOST) to assist afterschool program providers in responding to the call of academics in non-school time, while addressing the full range of children's developmental needs. The guide provides an overview of learning and child development as they relate to out-of-school time care; offers tools for selecting, planning, developing, and evaluating afterschool activities; and demonstrates how to link these activities to both learning and quality standards. YouthLearn was thrilled to assist NIOST in this effort, providing recommendations and resources on promoting project-based methods and integrating technology into afterschool.

It All Adds Up!

"Dynamic site for teens on personal finance.
Grade Level: 9-12

CONTENT:
It All Adds Up is an engaging, interactive site for teens that helps them understand how to responsibly manage their personal finances and how to properly use credit. It was developed by the National Council on Economic Education with a grant from American Express."

Learning the Alphabet

"A kindergarten teacher's efforts to make learning the alphabet fun for her students at Immanuel Lutheran School won $2,500 in technology for her classroom from Best Buy.
Linda Lundgren, a longtime kindergarten teacher at Immanuel Lutheran, was among 36 teachers in Indiana who were honored by Best Buy's te@ch program. The program awards a $2,500 Best Buy gift card to schools in recognition of programs or projects that integrate interactive technology into the classroom and make learning fun for students."

The article goes on to describe the activities of Ms. Lundgren's classroom that earned her the award.

New YouthLearn Afterschool & Technology section

YouthLearn is pleased to announce the launch of a new section of our website called "Afterschool & Technology." In this new section, we explore how afterschool programs can promote content-rich learning in fun and creative ways with the aid of various technology tools. The section contains promising afterschool programming strategies from eight dynamic initiatives around the country. Each has effectively utilized technology to foster academic learning, while still promoting youth-led, project-based methods.