NEWS--

For immediate release

April 30, 2008

Bloomington schools awarded $75,000 grant

for health sciences

Indian Mounds also earns second-year classroom grant

Bloomington Public Schools hopes a $75,000 grant will help its high schools create an interest and motivation for more students to consider healthcare and biomedical careers upon graduation.

The grant, recently awarded by HealthForce Minnesota, will be used to integrate health sciences curriculum into existing courses at both Kennedy and Jefferson high school, according to Debbie Belfry, career development coordinator for Bloomington Public Schools. The grant will also allow the district and its high schools to develop courses that lead to students earning certificates in healthcare and biomedical educational units.

HealthForce Minnesota is a collaborative partnership of education, industry and community that was created to increase the number and expand the diversity of healthcare workers, and to integrate health science education practice and research. The network consists of seven healthcare and 10 educational partners, as well as the Healthcare Education Industry Partnership at Mankato, Workforce Development, Inc. of Rochester, and the University of Minnesota's Center for Allied Health.

HealthForce Minnesota is housed at Winona State University, and is funded by a $10 million state appropriation approved by Gov. Tim Pawlenty and the Minnesota Legislature.

Indian Mounds Classroom Grant

The Education Minnesota Foundation for Excellence in Teaching and Learning has approved funding for a second-year classroom grant for Indian Mounds Elementary School.  The grant will focus on techniques for introducing media arts to fifth grade students in Wendy Ewald's class.

Ewald teaches Literacy Through Photography, a program to develop the visual elements and content of digital photographs taken by students. The course encourages students to explore their world as they photograph scenes from their own lives, and to use their images as catalysts for verbal and written expression.

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