GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas – The Cotton Bowl Foundation and College Football Playoff (CFP) Foundation teamed up once again to make it a BIG DAY for North Texas educators, awarding grants of $50,000 each to Urban Teachers Dallas-Fort Worth and Catch Up & Read, as a part of the Extra Yard for Teachers initiative.
"Today, we celebrate and recognize the wonderful work that teachers do every day to protect and educate our children and bring some normalcy to their lives," said Bry Patton, Chairman, Cotton Bowl Athletic Association.
The $100,000 in grant dollars for Urban Teachers DFW and Catch Up & Read were unveiled in a presentation at Uplift Grand Preparatory School. The free, public, college-preparatory charter school located in Grand Prairie, Texas, served as the perfect backdrop to celebrate both organizations and provide the opportunity for in-person surprises for two well-deserving educators.
Christiane Crawford-Gill, a sixth-grade math teacher and pillar of both Uplift Grand Middle School and Urban Teachers since 2017, was surprised just outside of her classroom with a special BIG DAY presentation for being steadfast as an educator and a mentor and host teacher for aspiring Urban Teachers. Gracie Pineda, media specialist at Cuellar Elementary and representing Catch Up & Read, was recognized for her dedication and teamwork attitude as a multi-talented educator.
"It is truly my joy to be a teacher," said Crawford-Gill. "It is so much work to be a teacher, but you see so much of the impact you make on your students. Thank you for recognizing me and our work as teachers."
"As a teacher for 14 years with Dallas ISD, I am grateful for the Catch Up & Read program and the impact it has done for our community," said Pineda.
Crawford-Gill and Pineda each received a $500 donor choose gift card and gift bag, courtesy of the CFP Foundation, and a backpack full of gifts and two tickets to the 2021 CFP Semifinal at the 86th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, courtesy of the Cotton Bowl Foundation.
Urban Teachers is a multi-city non-profit organization with the mission to improve educational and life outcomes of children in urban schools by preparing culturally competent, effective career teachers who accelerate student achievement and disrupt systems of racial and socioeconomic inequity.
"We are so thankful to our partners at the College Football Playoff Foundation and Cotton Bowl Foundation," said Anthony Hernandez, Interim Executive Director, Urban Teachers DFW. "Urban Teachers is an organization that knows that being a good teacher doesn't happen overnight. It's an arduous process and we're here to coach our teachers for a long time. Our teachers get over 85 hours of coaching to make sure they feel prepared to stay in the classrooms that they serve. We're excited today to be accepting this contribution on behalf of the great teachers that we get to work with every day."
"Urban Teachers is thrilled to have the continued support of the College Football Playoff Foundation and Cotton Bowl Foundation," said Peter Shulman, Urban Teachers Chief Executive Officer. "The partnership and support provided by these organizations help us equip teachers to reach and teach students across the Dallas metroplex with equity and inclusivity."
Catch Up & Read is a non-profit, community-funded organization that is transforming the lives of at-risk elementary students in the Dallas Independent School District by equipping them to read on grade level by third grade. The organization collaborates with teachers, principals and administrators on an instruction and tutoring program that drives extraordinary and sustainable results.
"Having the Cotton Bowl Foundation and the College Football Playoff Foundation partner with us to train teachers and service students for the past three years is enormously humbling," said Catherine LeBlanc, CEO and Founder, Catch Up & Read. "They respect our program, have seen our results and understand the leveraged approach of training a teacher and classrooms of students are impacted. So, the Cotton Bowl Foundation and the College Football Playoff Foundation coming together to leverage their giving impacts our ability to leverage those dollars to reach more students and teachers."
The BIG DAY, which is part of
Extra Yard for Teachers Week, is the largest single-day effort of community impact by the extended college football family. The Cotton Bowl Foundation joined the more than 500 CFP Foundation partners and 200 high schools across all 50 states in BIG DAY activations.
About the Cotton Bowl Foundation
The Cotton Bowl Foundation, the official foundation of the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, serves North Texas by supporting programs that improve opportunities for underserved youth with the vision of making an impact on those who play the game, attend the game and support the game. Since 2016, the Cotton Bowl Foundation has awarded more than $1 million in grants and financial support benefiting non-profit organizations in the surrounding communities.
