Toyota TAPESTRY Grant Program Announces 2011 Award Recipients

Science Education Receives Boost with $500,000 in Funding From Toyota TAPESTRY Program

• Program to provide 50 educators with grants totaling $500,000 to improve science learning opportunities for students
• Since the program’s inception in 1990, nearly $10 million has been awarded to 1,197 educators nationwide
• Winning programs will begin project implementation in June 2011

TORRANCE, Calif. – June 13, 2011 – A group of 50 U.S. science educators has been selected to receive $500,000 in grants through the Toyota TAPESTRY Grants for Science Teachers Progr. Fully funded by Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. (TMS), the program recognizes and provides support to educators who are making a difference by demonstrating excellence and creativity in science education. The winning programs will begin project implementation in June 2011.

The Toyota TAPESTRY Grants for Science Teachers program has been enhancing science education for students for more than 20 years. At the onset of the program in 1991, it offered an additional boost to the efforts of teachers across the country. Today, in light of the current crisis facing the nation’s schools, the Toyota TAPESTRY program helps to ensure there are engaging science education programs available to get students excited about science.  

Over the course of the program’s 21 year history, Toyota has provided nearly $10 million in grants and touched tens of thousands of students nationwide. As a result of the Toyota TAPESTRY program, numerous educators have gone on to win prestigious awards, including the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science and Mathematics, the NSTA Distinguished Teaching Award and the Einstein Fellowship Award. Additionally, teachers have had the opportunity to expand their science-based projects beyond their classrooms, and impact their communities and even state legislatures. Frequently, this includes garnering substantial additional funding for the teacher’s program and school.

Program Overview

Sponsored by Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. and administered by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), the Toyota TAPESTRY Program serves as the nation’s largest science teacher grant program of its kind and awards funding for innovative science proposals submitted by educators in environmental science. Since the program’s inception in 1990, educators from all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Mariana Islands have received Toyota TAPESTRY grants.

Judges, accomplished in various areas of science education, select projects that stand out in creativity, risk-taking and originality. Fifty teachers will receive grants of $10,000 each, totaling $500,000. This year’s projects range from creating bio-fuel in an effort to help school communities go green, to increasing food production on farms in urban environments. 

Toyota TAPESTRY is open to elementary, middle and high school science teachers in the United States and its territories. Teachers may apply individually or in teams online.

Quotes

“It’s extremely rewarding to support exceptional teachers who bring quality science education to our children. The Toyota TAPESTRY program was built on the vision of recognizing such teachers and supporting their efforts to improve science learning opportunities for children. Over the past 21 years, we’ve had the opportunity to turn that dream into reality.”

-– Michael Rouse, vice president of philanthropy, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc

“There is nothing more gratifying than honoring outstanding science educators who demonstrate excellence, creativity and vision in science teaching. We are extremely proud of the winners of the 2011 Toyota TAPESTRY Grants for Science Teachers program and for their unwavering commitment to their students and profession.” 

-– Dr. Francis Eberle, Executive Director for NSTA

From Toyota

2011 TAPESTRY Grant Recipients

STATE	CITY
ALABAMA
Kevin Dolbeare	Mobile
ARIZONA
Emily Musta	Flagstaff
Margaret Wich	Tucson
CALIFORNIA
Aulikki Flagan	Alhambra
Patricia Brown	Auberry
Brook Webb	Bakersfield
Jeff Strogen	Etiwanda
Chris Steigelman	Newbury Park
COLORADO
Mark Browning	Glenwood Springs
CONNECTICUT
Carmen Andrews	Bridgeport
David Edgeworth	New Haven
FLORIDA
Donna Lewis	Miami
HAWAII
Teresa Shimamoto	Honolulu
ILLINOIS
Jason Crean	Western Springs
Allan Fluharty	Chicago
KENTUCKY
Catherina Wiley	Glasgow
MASSACHUSETTS
Louise Levy	Belchertown
Paul Niles	Orleans
Graeme Marcoux	Salem
Kate Fraser	Watertown
MICHIGAN
June Teisan	Harper Woods
Jennifer Bierbusse	Lapeer
Robert Thompson	Ossineke
MINNESOTA
Peter Wieczorek	Coon Rapids
NORTH CAROLINA
Ruby Stephens	Elizabethtown
Melanie Shaver	Marion
Jordan Trull	Raleigh
NEW HAMPSHIRE
David Auerbach	Canaan
Peter Faletra	Lyme
NEW JERSEY
Loris Chen	Wyckoff
NEW MEXICO
Dawn Winters	Santa Fe
NEW YORK
Ruth Fried	Holliswood
Marissa Bellino	New York
Susan Sharp	Phoenix
Donna Bianco	Staten Island
Gregory Metzger	Southampton
PENNSYLVANIA
Kevin Willis	Carmichaels
Peggy Greene	Eagleville
SOUTH DAKOTA
Susan Wolf	Flandreau
TENNESEE
Amanda Breece	Gallatin
TEXAS
Julie Frey	Aledo
Dolores Garay	Houston
VIRGINIA
Laurie Sullivan	Arlington
Isabelle Cohen	McLean
WASHINGTON
Mario Godoy-Gonzalez	Royal City
Jobie Flint & Danyell Laughlin	Silverdale
WEST VIRGINIA
Carol Muniz	Morgantown
Julia Colaw	Petersburg
Carolyn Thomas	Shenandoah Junction
WISCONSIN
D.J. Huddleston	Weston