by Elizabeth Bleacher

The deadline for the International Reading Association (IRA) Regie Routman Teacher Recognition Grant is November 15. The award, a US$2,500 grant, is given to an outstanding mainstream, elementary classroom teacher dedicated to developing reading and writing skills within students.

Potential nominees need to be IRA members and teach at schools where at least 60% of students are eligible for free or reduced lunch. Teachers must also be able to demonstrate that they are devoted to improving the teaching and learning of reading and writing across the curriculum in grades K-6.

Teachers will be expected to provide a proposal outlining their plans for the grant. Only educators with original, creative proposals will be considered. The grant may not be used to purchase pre-existing commercial programs. A budget outline, personal statement, and three letters of recommendation are also required.

The award is supported by literacy coach, teacher, and author Regie Routman who has been a member of the IRA for 35 years. Routman’s informative Literacy and Learning Lessons from a Longtime Teacher is an excellent guidebook for K- 12 educators, new and old. The book contains 100 literacy learning lessons that serve as inspirational frameworks to raise achievement and enjoyment in the classroom.

This past September Routman joined a group of her colleagues in hosting an IRA Literacy and Leadership Institute for educators committed to making lasting changes in literacy education. The institute offered a uniquely intimate chance to interact with professionals in improving literacy in schools. Routman will be conducting another institute from January 28 to 29 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Registration for the event is currently open and the form can be found at the IRA Literacy and Leadership Institute website.

Dawn Beach, a fifth-grade teacher at John I. Meister Elementary School in Hobart, Indiana, was the 2012 recipient of the IRA Regie Routman Teacher Recognition Grant. As an educator, Beach encourages her students to grow academically, socially, and emotionally by focusing on goal setting and developing life skills. In order to promote creative learning, Beach used the grant money to establish a professional puppet residency.

For more information on the IRA Regie Routman Teacher Recognition Grant, visit the International Reading Association’s website. Those interested can also visit Regie Routman’s personal website.

Elizabeth Bleacher is the strategic communications intern at the International Reading Association.