Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1208082
D U R I N G T H E 2 0 17 - 1 8 school year, secondary and postsecondary students and educators at schools in Perris and Moreno Valley participated in "Oral His- tories of the Inland Empire." e project's goal was to highlight the diverse experi- ences of Inland Empire residents. In July 2019, a group of educators from Moreno Valley Unified and Val Verde Unified school districts and Moreno Val- ley College received a grant from CTA's Institute for Teaching to support up to 30 teachers' classrooms (middle school through college) in completing an oral history project during the 2019-20 aca- demic year. Jennifer Escobar, member of the Riv- ersi d e C C D Fa culty A ss o c i ation an d associate professor at Moreno Valley C o l l e g e , w o n t h e g r a n t w i t h K a r y n T h o m a s a n d Ki m b e r l y T h o m a s , Va l Verde Teachers Association, and Ange- lena Tavares and Ken Miralles, Moreno Valley Educators Association. The IFT Impact Grant of $18,480 is only the sec- ond community college grant in the 10 years of the IFT program. e "Researching (With) Our Commu- nities rough Oral Histories" grant will support ongoing and new collaborative oral history projects for educators who work in Val Verde and Moreno Valley Oral history project spans school and college districts in Riverside By Cynthia Menzel Firhand A c c o u n t s C T A ' S I N S T I T U T E for Teaching supports strength-based, teacher- driven change. Projects are evaluated on criteria such as: • Enriches student creativity, invention, resourcefulness. • Promotes student responsibility and self- reliance. • Expands student interdependence. • Emphasizes strengths over deficits. • Integrates parent/adult personal strengths and positive experiences into the teaching and learning. • Boosts student expectations, hope and optimism about the future. Grants, announced in June, are open to all CTA members as individuals, teams and affiliated local chapters. To apply, go to teacherdrivenchange.org. DEADLINE IS MARCH 31 Apply for an IFT Grant! Twin sisters Karyn and Kimberly Thomas (in front) facilitate discussions between community college faculty and K-12 teachers about their projects. 50 cta.org Teaching & Learning