Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the recipient of a $12,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation to empower teachers with science and technology. The program, based in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, delivers an array of education enrichment opportunities to teachers from East Tennessee and Western North Carolina who will use their knowledge to benefit local students as well.

“The Verizon Foundation’s generous support completely covers the funding request we received from the Park for this program for 2013,” said Friends of the Smokies’ President Jim Hart.

Next spring and summer, the grant will fund two teacher workshops focusing on the latest teaching methods, lesson plans adapted to curriculum changes and new science content, and current technology. Through Verizon’s ...