CenturyLink Teachers and Technology awards $150,000 to Colorado teachers

In its sixth year funded by the CenturyLink Foundation, CenturyLink Teachers and Technology seeks to identify, highlight and recognize Colorado Pre-K-12 teachers who are using technology to help their students learn and achieve. The program has given away more than $850,000 in Colorado over the past six years, benefiting 40,000 students.

“As school budgets tighten, more and more teachers are looking for alternative ways to enhance the learning experience for their students, and the CenturyLink Teachers and Technology program is available to these innovative teachers,” said Scott Russell, CenturyLink vice president and general manager for Denver and Northern Colorado and PEBC board member. “CenturyLink’s vision is to improve people’s lives by delivering advanced technologies. We do that with our customers and are proud to work with PEBC to give support directly to teachers doing the same thing for their students.”

This year, the CenturyLink Teachers and Technology program expanded to include 138 school districts across Colorado. A review committee comprised of representatives from CenturyLink, PEBC and various business and nonprofit leaders identified the 34 grantees out of almost 400 applications received.

The teachers will use the funds to purchase items like iPads to engage students. At Centennial Elementary in the Harrison School District, the devices will be used with students performing drastically below grade level for literacy to teach phonics, vocabulary and reading. At the Denver Center for International Studies within Denver Public Schools, iPads will allow students to collaborate on projects over the Internet with more than 30,000 schools in 130 countries. At Foothill Elementary in the Boulder Valley School District, teachers will purchase sound field amplification technology for a first grade classroom with hearing impaired and special needs students. At Heaton Middle School in Pueblo, a new LEGO® Mindstorm Robotics Engineering set will engage at-risk seventh and eighth graders in science class.

Schools Receiving a CenturyLink Teachers and Technology Grant for 2012-2013: