Education briefs
Help available for forms Experts at ACT offer the following information to help families find the resources they need to complete college financial aid paperwork.
The most important form is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
Beginning Jan. 1, students will be able to submit the form that determines eligibility for student financial aid from federal programs. Students will need family-income statements from their 2002 earnings to complete the form.
Colleges and universities use the FAFSA, but may require students to fill out additional forms. The FAFSA is available from high school counselors or at www.fafsa.ed.gov.
Financial aid tips from ACT include: apply early for admission and financial; check with your college to determine if other financial aid forms are required; apply for scholarships and grants; look into work study programs; and surf the web for financial aid information.
The following Web sites are suggested: financial aid need estimator and financial aid information – www.act.org/fane; free college scholarship search – www.collegenet.com; the financial aid information page – www.finaid.org; the federal government financial aid page -www.ed.gov/finaid.html; Free Application for Federal Student Aid – www.fafsa.ed.gov; scholarship scams – www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/scholarship
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For more financial aid specifics, consult a high school guidance counselor or visit the Web site www.act.org
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83 recognized at reception
California University of Pennsylvania’s Faculty Professional Development Committee held a Recognition Reception Nov. 27, recognizing 83 individuals from Cal U’s current and past faculty and administration who have either served on the FPD committee or one of its four sub-committees.
Professor Barbara Hess, chair of the FPDC, and Dr. Sylvia Sholar, current faculty center coordinator, distributed plaques to those who attended.
The honored FPDC service providers in alphabetical order included John Bauman, Peter Belch, Mohamed Benbourenane, Carol Biddington, Cheryl Bilitski, Melanie Blumberg, Kaddour Boukaabar, Walter Brumm, David Campbell, James Carter, Richard Cavasina, Margaret Christopher, Edward Chute, Jesse Cignetti, Debra Clingerman, Leonard Colelli, George Crane, Robert David, Daniel Engstrom, Debra Farrer, Audrey-Beth Fitch, John Folmar, Betty Ford, Max Gonano, Arcides Gonzalez, Gregg Gould, Richard Hart, Richard Helldobler, Barbara Hess, Rebecca Hess, Erin Hider, Karla Hoffman, Larry Horath, Susan Jasko, Elizabeth Jones, John Kallis, Robert Kane, Chad Kauffman, Thomas Kinsey, Kevin Koury, John Lambertson, Harry Langley, Rebecca Lotman, Cerenna Mace, Sean Madden, Virginia Majewski, Paula Martasian, John Michaels, Patricia Milford, Thomas Mueller, John Nass, Joseph Newhouse, Daria Nikitina, William O’Donnell, Michele Pagen, Lisa Patchner, Christine Peterson, Loring Prest, Rebecca Regeth, Horace Rockwood, Joni Roh, Mary Ann Salotti, Caryl Sheffield, John Shimkanin, Sylvia Sholar, Robert Skwarecki, Michael Slaven, Michael Slavin, Jannene Southworth, Dennis Sweeney, Emily Sweitzer, Marc Sylvester, Shirley Sylvester, Linda Toth, Laura Tuennerman-Kaplan, Robert Vargo, Jaroslav Vaverka, Thomas Wickham, Margo Wilson, Andrea Wyman, Mohamed Yamba, Kausar Yasmin, and John Young.
Web site available for teachers
A Pennsylvania State University natural resources educator has created a Web site for teachers whose curricula include sustainable forestry and natural history. The site can be found at http://sftrc.cas.psu.edu/.
“School teachers often create unique and useful lesson plans for their classes, but beyond their own students, no one ever sees or benefits from their work,” said Sanford Smith, a natural resources and youth specialist with Penn State Cooperative Extension. “The Sustainable Forestry Teachers Resource Center is designed to address that.”
The Web site allows teachers to exhibit and share lesson plans related to sustainable forestry. The sustainable forestry lessons include topics such as forest biology, wildlife management and water conservation for grades kindergarten through 12.
Smith developed the Web site with the assistance of Laurie Schoonhoven, information specialist, and Nathan Bosic, an undergraduate student, all in the school of forest resources.
Teachers from across the state who attended one of Penn State Cooperative Extension’s Forest Resources Institutes for Teachers provided the current selection of more than 120 lesson plans on the site. Also included are links to numerous educational natural resources sites, a lesson plan evaluation page, lesson plan submission instructions and a direct link to the popular “From The Woods” publication series designed for middle-schoolers.
“The Sustainable Forestry Teachers Resource Center is a work in progress,” Smith said. “New lesson plans will be added from upcoming institutes and individual submissions. All of the lesson plans are created by real teachers for use in their classrooms. They are not uniform in structure, but they all follow a simple format with the key elements easily identified.”
Efforts are under way to publicize the Sustainable Forestry Teachers Resource Center as a teaching resource across Pennsylvania and nationally. Additionally, a Web-tracking system to assess the use and effectiveness of the center is in place, and teacher input is being sought for possible enhancements.
Development of the Sustainable Forestry Teachers Resource Center was made possible through a grant from The Laird Norton Endowment Foundation.