STATE FARM PRESENTS GRANT TO HELP STUDENTS LEARN ABOUT SERVING COMMUNITIES

(March 27, 2006) WACO, TEXAS — The State Farm Insurance Company donated $2,500 to the Education Service Center Region 12 for an innovative service-learning program called Project Kaleidoscope.  Project Kaleidoscope is a new training program that teaches strategies in Place-Based Education and service-learning to help classrooms connect to their communities.  Teachers from Fairfield, Frost, Killeen and Whitney school districts in the Region 12 service area, along with community members from Waco and Coolidge are participating in the new program.

"This grant will assist teachers and their students in designing and implementing projects that will truly improve their schools and communities," said Janette Scott, education specialist for ESC Region 12.

Teachers in the program are trained through video-conferences and online discussion sessions to improve their skills in service-learning.  The teachers and their students will use their communities as laboratories to study both the natural and socio-cultural environments and determine the needs to address through service-learning. In May, each project will be presented at the annual Region 12 Service-Learning Celebration.

“State Farm is committed to the communities where our employees and agents live and do business,” State Farm Agent John Holder said while presenting the check, “especially supporting initiatives that improve the safety of neighbors, boost educational excellence for our children, and build stronger neighbors.  Education excellence is State Farm’s unwavering dedication to do what we can to help those working to achieve optimum academic achievement for our students and our teachers.”  Holder, who has an office in Hewitt, presented the check to the Kaleidoscope participants, many of whom joined the program via video-conference from their schools at a recent training session.  For further information, contact Janette Scott at 254.297.1127 or jscott@esc12.net.

About ESC Region 12
One of 20 centers throughout Texas, the Education Service Center (ESC) Region 12 is dedicated to serving 78 school districts, 10 charter schools and area private/parochial schools in improving student performance.  ESC Region 12 partners with school districts to deliver services and solutions to educators so they may help public school children be successful.  

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