Hi NWP friends,
I'm passing this on from my Bread Loaf friend Sam
Swope, author of I Am
a Pencil. Why not?
best
Tish

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A doctor, lawyer or business person can earn more than
$100,000 in one
year.  Why not a teacher?

I would like to inform you and the Teachers and
Writers Collaborative
of
an unparalleled opportunity for teachers: the launch
of the Kinder
Excellence in Teaching Award.  A $100,000 cash prize,
the largest
unrestricted K-12 teacher award in U.S. history, will
be awarded to an
extraordinary teacher in an underserved community.
The award seeks to
recognize innovative and results-oriented teaching and
to raise public
awareness of the importance of effective and committed
teachers.

Nancy and Rich Kinder of Houston, TX established this
award so an
outstanding educator serving low-income children could
be rewarded
financially for his or her work. The award was created
to honor Rich
Kinder's mother, Edna C. Kinder, a former teacher in
his hometown of
Cape Girardeau, MO.

 Teachers must be nominated to be selected for the
Kinder Excellence in
Teaching Award.  Nominees must be currently employed
in a K-12 school,
public or private, in the U.S. where at least 50
percent of students
qualify for the free- and reduced-price meal program.
Nominations
should be submitted online by December 31, 2005 at
www.kinderaward.org
<http://www.kinderaward.org/> .  In the spring of
2006, a Blue Ribbon
Panel of distinguished educational leaders, will
review the finalists
and select the winner, who will be announced next
summer.

 The Kinders have partnered with KIPP (Knowledge Is
Power Program) to
administer the award's nomination and selection
process. In 2002, the
Kinders established an award to honor excellent KIPP
teachers. This
year, the Kinders decided to expand beyond the KIPP
network of schools
and created a new and larger national award for
non-KIPP teachers in
K-12 education serving underserved communities.  No
educator employed
in
a KIPP school during the 2005-2006 school year is
eligible in 2006 for
the Kinder Excellence in Teaching Award.

 We hope that thousands of excellent teachers will be
nominated for
their
ability to inspire learning and achievement in the
classroom.  Please
join us in spreading the news about this remarkable
opportunity with
your constituents.  If you could please forward me a
copy of your
announcement for our records, I would greatly
appreciate it.

 Our nation's committed teachers deserve to be
recognized for their
devotion, and you can help us in this effort to
celebrate them.

 If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free
to contact me at
(415) 503-8654 or [log in to unmask]

 Sincerely,

Catherine North
Director, Kinder Excellence in Teaching Award
www.kinderaward.org <http://www.kinderaward.org/>
www.kipp.org <http://www.kipp.org/>