Teachers create grant program for peers

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      Two Clark County School District teachers will use personal funds to establish an incentive grant encouraging their fellow teachers to pursue professional development.
      The Teacher to Teacher Mathematics and Science Grant offers matching funds to teachers to strengthen their skills and broaden their teaching methods.
      Sharon Pearson, a fifth-grade teacher at Eisenberg Elementary School and Candance Yamagata, an eighth-grade teacher at the Hyde Park Academy of Science and Mathematics, have designated a portion of their personal award money to initiate the program after they both received a 1998 National Science Foundation Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.
      "I have grown so much through professional development," Yamagata said. "My job is teaching and building thinkers. If I were working with knowledge I had gained in high school or college, I would be limited."
      Pearson agreed: "Teachers need to know their efforts to further improve their skills are appreciated. This fund will help them grow as educators and bring excitement to the classroom."
      Teacher to Teacher will provide matching funds for a teacher's participation in conferences, seminars and workshops in the fields of science or mathematics. The grant will be administered through the Clark County Public Education Foundation.
      "We are proud to be a part of this project," said Judi Steele, executive director of the Clark County Public Education Foundation. "It is commendable that these teachers have come forward to create a grant that will help other teachers be more effective in the classroom."
      Contributions to the Teacher to Teacher grant fund may be sent to the Clark County Public Education Foundation, 2832 E. Flamingo Road, Box 7, Las Vegas, Nev. 89121.
      Initial applications for teachers will be accepted beginning in October. Those interested can call 799-1042.