Qwest Foundation to Reward Innovative Teachers Throughout Nebraska with Technology Grants

OMAHA, Neb.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Qwest Foundation today announced the Qwest Teachers and Technology grant program, which, for the second year in a row, will offer funds that allow Nebraska teachers to provide vital technology for their classrooms. Qwest is providing a $50,000 donation that will help fund innovative technology so that individual teachers across the state can improve education in the classroom. The grants will be administered by the Nebraska Department of Education.

The purpose of the Qwest Teachers and Technology grant program is to recognize and reward public school teachers who use innovative technology in the classroom to improve the educational experience for students.

“The Qwest Foundation has dedicated itself to helping improve education in the communities where our customers live and work,” said Rex Fisher, Qwest’s president for Nebraska. “The Qwest Teachers and Technology grant program lets teachers find creative ways to bring technology into the classroom, and better prepare students to succeed in this high tech world.”

In the first year of the program, Qwest awarded grants to five teachers in Nebraska. The grants funded technologies that help improve student writing; experiment and collect data; raise students’ math skills; improve instructional strategies; and improve learning retention.

Tom Ahlschwede from Lincoln Public Schools was one of last year’s grant recipients. “The project funded three complete video production labs, video camera, laptop computers, all the digital media so that technology can be in the hands of kids so they can create a video of the content we are working on,” said Ahlschwede.

The grants will be awarded to teachers through a competitive grant process. Educators will find more information for the Qwest Teachers and Technology grants at www.nde.state.ne.us/techcen/QwestGrants.htm. The Web site provides specific instructions on the grant process. The deadline to receive applications is June 20, 2008. If you’d like more information on applying you can contact Jim Lukesh at 402-432-4668.

About the Qwest Foundation:

The Qwest Foundation’s core principle is that investing in education provides lasting value for the future. The Qwest Foundation awards grants to community-based programs that generate high-impact and measurable results, focusing on pre K-12 education.