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For
Immediate Release McGraw-Hill
Education and Gather.com Launch Teacher Contest to Collect Best Instructional
Strategies for English-language Learners Video/Essay Competition for
Chicago Teachers Highlights Need to Provide Additional Resources to Overcome
Language and Culture Challenges CHICAGO, August 28, 2007 – Public,
private and parochial school teachers in this city will have the opportunity to
submit video or essays demonstrating effective instructional strategies for
reaching today's English-language learners as part of a competition launched
today by McGraw-Hill Education, a leading global provider of instructional,
assessment and reference solutions, and Gather.com, the leader in social media for adults. The "ELL
Teaching Strategy Challenge" will highlight teaching practices designed to help the
growing number of English Language Learners (ELL) in
today's classrooms: the population of ELL students has grown 105 percent,
while the general school population has grown only 12 percent since the 1990-91
school year. ELL Teaching Strategy Challenge is being piloted in Chicago. Based
on teacher participation in the pilot, McGraw-Hill Education and Gather.com
will determine whether to expand the program to other areas across the nation. Today
through October 18,
teachers and administrators at all public, private and parochial schools in
Chicago can submit a 2.5- minute video or a 250- to 500-word essay at http://teach.gather.com. The submissions must showcase an
effective ELL classroom strategy, technique or experience. All Chicago public,
private and parochial school teachers are also invited to join teach.gather.com
for free to participate in the evaluating and rating of the submissions to
select the ten top finalists. A panel of six judges chosen by McGraw-Hill
Education's Professional Development group will then select the Grand Prize
Winners. On November 14, two grand prize winners will each be awarded a $1,500
cash prize that may be used to purchase classroom supplies. Two runners-up will
also be selected and each will receive $500. ÒSchools
and school systems are challenged to provide the necessary tools and resources
for students to overcome the difficulties around language and culture,Ó said
Beth McBride, vice president of McGraw-Hill Education's Professional
Development group. ÒWe know that all students learn differently, and we aim to
provide resources that reach all learners. That's why McGraw-Hill Education
provides such a broad range of programs and materials. We designed this
competition to highlight the challenges that ELL educators face and to help
them identify creative solutions.Ó The ELL
Teaching Strategy Challenge is easy – and free – to participants. Eligible teachers can
take part by joining the ELL Teaching Strategy Challenge group at http://teach.gather.com and uploading their essay or video.
All videos and essays must focus on reading, math, science, social studies, or
literature. ÒIt takes a
special kind of person to be a teacher – and one of the most complex
challenges that educators face today is teaching ELL students,Ó said Tom
Gerace, Gather.com founder and chief executive officer. ÒWe are extremely
excited that McGraw-Hill Education's Professional Development group has chosen
to leverage the Gather platform to seek out creative ideas and provide a means
for teachers to share helpful strategies amongst their peers.Ó -MORE- More
detailed information about the competition can be found at http://teach.gather.com. The ELL
Teaching Strategy Challenge Timeline Submission
Period: August 28
– October 18 Submission
of essays/videos at teach.gather.com Voting
Period: August 28 -
October 31 All
teachers and administrators in Chicago public, private and parochial schools
are invited to participate in the voting to help select 10 finalists (Five in video
category and five in essay category) Finalists
Announced: November
5, 2007 10
finalists announced on Gather.com Grand
Prize Winner Announcement: November 14, 2007 McGraw-Hill
Education's Professional Development group will award each of the two grand
prize winners $1,500, which may be used to purchase classroom supplies. Two
runner-ups will each receive $500. Additional entrants who submit a video that
is chosen to be included in a McGraw-Hill Education Professional Development
course will receive a $100 gift certificate to the McGraw-Hill catalog. About
McGraw-Hill Education McGraw-Hill
Education is a leading global provider of instructional, assessment and
reference solutions that empower professionals and students of all ages.
McGraw-Hill Education, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE:MHP), has
offices in 33 countries and publishes in more than 40 languages. Additional
information is available at http://www.mheducation.com. About
Gather.com Gather.com
(www.gather.com) is the leader in social media for adults. Gather.com members connect
around shared interests ranging from politics to books and from cooking to
travel, and they're compensated for their activity on the site. Members can
engage in conversation with state and local politicians, health and financial
experts, personal coaches, bestselling authors and more. Over one million
people visit Gather.com each month to read content created by Gather.com
members. Gather.com has a highly educated, highly informed adult audience
membership – a demographic elusive to most social networking sites.
Gather.com is a privately held, privately funded company headquartered in
Boston, Massachusetts. Investors include Allen & Company, The American
Public Media Group, Hearst, The McGraw-Hill Companies, and Southern California
Public Radio. For more information, visit www.gather.com or call (617) 720-4000, x1032. -END- CONTACT: Tom Stanton McGraw-Hill
Education 212-904-3214 |
