2015 Information
Session
Our Mission
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• Recognizing teachers as professionals
• Professional learning experiences of your own design
• Honoring teacher commitment to student success
• Awarding grants directly to teachers
Eligibility
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• Employed full-time as a PreK-12th grade teacher
• Spends at least 50% of their work week in direct instruction with students in a classroom or classroom like setting
• Intends to continue teaching in the consecutive school year
• Has at least three years teaching experience; and
• Previous recipients must wait for 3 years before reapplying. NOTICE: Effective October 1, 2015, a mandatory 5 year waiting period becomes policy.
Grant-Writing Tips
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• Use the online tools provided:
• Proposal Writing Tips and Excerpts
• Scoring Rubric
• Follow the Guidelines
• Proofread your proposal
• Have multiple people (both educators and non-educators) read and
score your proposal
Proposal Scoring
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Grants are scored using a rubric. Each section of the proposal is weighed equally:
• Fellowship Rationale and Purpose
• Project Description
• Teacher Growth and Learning
• Student Growth and Learning
• Benefits to School Community
• Plan for Implementation of Fellowship Learning
• Budget Narrative / Itemized Budget
Section I: Rationale and Purpose
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Answer each of the following questions:
• When thinking about your teaching practice, what would you like to
learn?
• What are the key questions or learning goals you want to explore?
• What challenge or passion inspires your proposed fellowship?
• What grade(s) and subject area(s) do you teach?
Section II: Project Description
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Answer each of the following questions:
• Describe and outline in detail your proposed fellowship.
• What key activities will you pursue, and why are they important?
• What is the time frame for achieving the goals outlined in the Rationale and Purpose?
Section III: Teacher Growth and Learning
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Answer each of the following questions:
• How will your fellowship help you address your key questions and/or learning goals?
• How will this fellowship help you grow as a teacher?
• How will the new proposed learning inform the content you currently
teach?
Section IV: Student Growth and Learning
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Answer each of the following questions:
• How will students benefit from your proposed fellowship?
• What meaningful additions or impact will this experience bring to your classroom?
Section V: Benefits to School Community
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Answer each of the following questions:
• How will your fellowship experience contribute to your school community's efforts to engage students and improve learning?
• How will you share your fellowship learning with colleagues?
Section VI: Plan for Fellowship Implementation
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Outline a plan for implementing learning from your proposed fellowship within
your classroom or school. We realize that not all valuable learning and transfer
can be predicted; however, planning for a fellowship contributes to a more
focused and significant learning experience for teacher and student.
Your implementation plan may be:
1. An outline of a newly created or enhanced curricular unit/project
– OR –
2. An action plan for new classroom or school-wide structures that you hope
to create
Section VII: Budget Narrative & Itemized Budget
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• Provide a brief narrative showing evidence of thoughtful planning and research into your specific itinerary
• It should explain the rationale for the project’s expenses; stipulate a time frame and approximate costs as closely as possible
• Include the resources used to arrive at your final itinerary within the
narrative
• If including a technology expense, specify: Why the item is necessary for the fellowship's success, why you have chosen the specific brand/type, and whether you have prior experience using the technology
• Food costs should reflect actual destination rates and cannot exceed $50 per day per person
• Itemized Budget: this form is generated by the online application
Navigating the Online Application
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• Create an account
• Select if you are applying as an individual or as a team
• Team lead must initiate the application process and will not be allowed to advance past the cover sheet until the other member(s) has signed the cover sheet(s).
• There are three parts to the application:• Cover sheet• Proposal• Itemized Budget Sheet
• List expenses on the Itemized Budget
How to Apply
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• Apply online at: www.fundforteachers.org• Tip: Compose your grant proposal in a word processing
program; then cut and paste your proposal into the online application
• Applications available October 1, 2014
• Application Deadline: January 29, 2015 @ 5:00pm CST
• Cover sheets:
• To be signed digitally by each applicant and school principals (Principals will receive an email to verify and sign cover sheets)
• Each team member must complete a cover sheet
• All applicants will be notified of the selection committee results by
April 3, 2015
Questions?
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Sarah Hoppe KnightChicago Foundation for
Alycia JohnstonFund for [email protected]
rg281.302.2635
Fund for Teachers reserves the right to review the terms and conditions of this grant program, and to make changes at any time, including termination.