The Department of Education has announced Teaching American History, a new $50 million program.

The program will fund projects to improve the quality of instruction in American History, as distinct from general social studies education.

Grant awards will be designed to assist elementary and secondary schools in implementing research-based methods for improving the quality of instruction, professional development and teacher education in American history. These funds will be used for competitive grants to local education agencies (LEAs) or consortia of LEAs where appropriate. The Department will award approximately 100 to 120 grants, and the estimated range of the awards is $300,000 - $700,000. Grants will be available for up to three years (dependent upon the availability of funding after 2001).

Applications should be available May 1st with a closing date of July 30, 2001. Information will be available at the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education Web site, http:/www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/, before the end of the February. Please contact Alex Rogers if you have any questions.

The year 2001 will be another milestone in the development of the Program, due to another significant increase in funding appropriated by Congress. We are indeed fortunate, as this means increased opportunities for you to apply for fisheries habitat restoration project and other funds. Below is a summary of the opportunities that are currently available, or soon will be, either through the NOAA Restoration Center and/or our numerous partners, or through other NOAA- related sources.

Five Star Restoration Challenge Grants Program–Call for Proposals The Five-Star Restoration Program, an outgrowth of the Administration's Clean Water Action Plan, provides modest financial assistance on a competitive basis to support community-based wetland and riparian restoration projects that build diverse partnerships and foster local natural resource stewardship. Applications must be postmarked by March 2, 2001.

Availability of funds to establish National and Regional Habitat Restoration Partnerships The NOAA Restoration Center will publish a Federal Register Notice in January 2001 to invite multi-year proposals for establishing innovative partnerships at a national or regional level, through NOAA’s Community-Based Restoration Program, to further habitat restoration to benefit living marine resources including anadromous fish.

Please note: This will NOT be a request for individual community-based habitat restoration project proposals; an announcement advertising funding available for individual projects will be released around February, with applications due around April 2001. Please see the NOAA RC website for updates and descriptions of projects funded through the NOAA CRP at: www.nmfs.noaa.gov/habitat/restoration

Purpose: The Echoing Green Foundation offers fellowships to individuals to start new autonomous public service projects or organizations. The foundation applies a venture capital approach to philanthropy by providing seed money and technical assistance to emerging social change leaders. Echoing Green invests in both the individual and the organization or project at an early stage, before most funders are willing to do so, and then provides them with the support to help them grow beyond start-up. The Echoing Green community currently includes over 300 Fellows working worldwide to address the needs of a wide range of communities.

The Fellowship: The fellowship includes a two-year $60,000 stipend, health and dental insurance coverage, on- line connectivity, access to our network of social change makers, and technical assistance. The stipend can be used for any purpose related to the start-up of the organization or project. Partnerships of no more than two individuals may apply for two fellowships combined for a total two-year stipend of $90,000. Both partners receive the benefits of being an Echoing Green Fellow. In addition to receiving the fellowship stipend, Fellows become part of the Echoing Green community. The creation of a community of Fellows is an important component of the Echoing Green fellowship. Fellows are expected to contribute to the strengthening of the community and to receive support from their peers. They are required to attend both a New Fellow Orientation and a New Fellows' Conference during the first year of their fellowship. Other conferences will be held periodically which Fellows will also be required to attend. Other responsibilities of Fellows include semi-annual reports to the foundation, submission of copies of all publications or products developed by Fellows, and up-to-date personal and project information for Echoing Green's database.

The Project/Organization: The proposed project or organization can be domestic or international. Support is offered to organizations and projects in all areas of public service including, but not limited to, the environment, arts, education, youth service, civil and human rights, and community and economic development. Proposed projects must be autonomous and not an extension of an already existing organization.

Eligibility: To be eligible for the fellowship, applicants must be 18 years of age or older and have a Social Security number or United States Tax Identification number. Applicants must make a full-time commitment to the development of the project or organization (minimum of 35 hours per week) and must commit to lead the project or organization for a minimum of two consecutive years. Partnerships of no more than two individuals may apply. Each partner must work a minimum of 35 hours per week on the development of the project or organization, and commit to leading the project or organization for a minimum of two consecutive years.

Projects or organizations must be the original idea of applicants. Projects or organizations must be independent and must not be the extension or expansion of another individual's or organization's mission or idea. Each project or organization must be in start-up phase.

Research projects or organizations and lobbying activities are not eligible. Prior recipients of Echoing Green funding may not apply.

For more information see www.echoinggreen.org