Tennessee Receives Verizon Foundation Grant for Online Resources
NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Department of Education has been awarded a $50,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation to provide training to teachers statewide on the thousands of free, standards-based educational resources available through www.Thinkfinity.org.
Thinkfinity is the Verizon Foundation’s comprehensive online portal to more than 55,000 educational and literacy resources for teachers, parents, students and after-school programs. Resources include grade-specific K-12 lesson plans and engaging, interactive activities provided in partnership with many of the nation’s leading educational and literacy organizations.
"Partners are vital to fulfilling the mission of educating Tennessee students for 21st century success,” Education Commissioner Timothy Webb said. “The Verizon Foundation’s contribution advances the use technology in education and gives Tennessee educators, parents and students access to additional, quality resources for learning.”
Verizon’s Thinkfinity.org offers elementary through high school teachers resources across eight academic disciplines, from science to English to mathematics, to improve student achievement. Thinkfinity.org is designed to help teachers gain access to high-quality online resources quickly.
The Verizon Foundation announced the grant November 12 at Lascassas Elementary School in Rutherford County where Bethany Miller taught her 3rd grade class using interactive Thinkfinity.org resources. The grant will be used to:
- provide professional development opportunities to classroom teachers statewide through on-site and online training;
- and raise awareness of Thinkfinity.org resources and professional development opportunities to educators statewide.
In addition to providing standards-based resources from the nation’s leading educational and literacy organizations, Thinkfinity.org also offers a comprehensive professional development program that allows teachers to sign up for free online or face-to-face training to learn how to make the most of Thinkfinity.org tools.
“Whether it’s an English teacher looking for resources to spark a love of reading in a student, or a parent seeking a convenient and user-friendly educational activity to stimulate the mind of a young child, Thinkfinity.org will help them quickly and easily find the information needed to improve student achievements,” said Michelle Robinson, Verizon president, Southeast region.
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Content for Thinkfinity.org is provided through a partnership between the Verizon Foundation and 11 of the nation’s leading organizations in the fields of education and literacy: the American Association for the Advancement of Science, International Reading Association, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, National Center for Family Literacy, National Council on Economic Education, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Council of Teachers of English, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, National Geographic Society, ProLiteracy and the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
The Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon Communications, supports the advancement of literacy and K-12 education through its signature program, Thinkfinity.org, and fosters awareness and prevention of domestic violence. For more information on the foundation, visit www.verizon.com/foundation.
For more information, contact Rachel Woods at (615) 253-1960 or Rachel.Woods@state.tn.us.
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