PHOENIX, AZ — EaglePicher Inc., a diversified manufacturer of products for space, defense, automotive, filtration, pharmaceutical and commercial applications, has created a corporate giving program that will focus on supporting secondary education.
The company will distribute funds targeted at helping science and math educators teaching grades 7 through 12 achieve National Board Certification, a rigorous standards and performance-based assessment designed for pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade classroom teachers. Created by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) out of Arlington, Va., the National Board Certification program is founded on the principle that the most important action the U.S. can take to improve education is to strengthen teaching. In Arizona, National Board Certification is a collaborative effort among the Arizona Department of Education, the Arizona Education Association and Arizona State University.
After reviewing several local and national education-based programs, EaglePicher executives decided on a National Board Certification scholarship program that will award $1,500 to selected math and science teachers who successfully complete National Board Certification. The EaglePicher award provides reimbursement for National Board Certification fees not covered by the NBPTS Candidate Subsidy Program administered by the Arizona Department of Education, and includes an additional $200 bonus for achieving certification.
“EaglePicher is committed to populating Arizona’s future workforce with talented and well-educated high-wage knowledge economy workers,” said John Weber, president and CEO of EaglePicher Incorporated. “Student achievement is directly linked to quality of education. We believe our support of this program represents the best opportunity to help Arizona students get the education and skills they deserve and that the market demands as innovation continues driving our economy, locally and globally.”
According to NBPTS statistics, all 50 states and the District of Columbia have NBPTS-certified PreK through 12 educators. Currently, Arizona has a total of 185 NBPTS-certified educators compared with states like California, Florida, North Carolina and Ohio with 2,640, 4,894, 6,606 and 2,167 NBPTS-certified educators each. EaglePicher has set aside funds to scholarship 33 Arizona educators in the 2005-2006 program year from school districts in Maricopa County.
“As a longtime proponent of the NBPTS program both here in Arizona and nationally, I am delighted to see Arizona business leaders like EaglePicher step up to support this vital program,” said Tom Horne, Arizona’s Superintendent of Public Instruction. “EaglePicher’s generosity will support an eighteen percent growth in National Board Certified teachers in Arizona schools in 2005/2006, and our students will benefit from a higher quality of education.”
For more information about EaglePicher, go to: www.eaglepicher.com.
More about NBPTS can be found at: www.nbpts.org.
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