Fund for Teachers FAQ
WHAT IS FUND FOR TEACHERS?
Fund for Teachers (FFT) is a national organization that provides fellowship support to preK-12 public school teachers to use for summer experiential learning that will enrich the teachers’ role as facilitators of student learning and creators of classroom excitement. FFT partners with local nonprofit organizations to provide these teacher fellowship opportunities in certain school districts. In Chattanooga, PEF and the Hamilton County Department of Education are FFT’s partners.
WHO CAN APPLY FOR THE FELLOWSHIPS?
Any HCDE teacher from preK to 12th grade (including those in charter schools), with at least three years of experience as a full-time classroom teacher and a pledge to return to the classroom, is eligible to apply for a PEF Fund for Teachers Fellowship, individually or in a team. We anticipate that many of the fellowships will relate in some way to STEM and/or literacy content, as these are HCDE’s priorities; however, teachers do not have to be subject-specific in those fields. Teachers can access the application form through PEF’s website at pefchattanooga.org/initiatives/fundforteachers.
DO I HAVE TO SUBMIT MY PROPOSAL TO THE DISTRICT FOR APPROVAL FIRST?
Per Superintendent Smith, your proposal does not have to go before the school board since it is privately funded and money does not go through the district, grant funds are executed for use in the summer, and PEF is coordinating this grant opportunity.
I'VE TAUGHT FOR THREE YEARS BUT I'M NOT CERTIFIED-ELIGIBLE. CAN I APPLY?
No, you must be a certified teacher to apply.
HOW MUCH IS AWARDED AND WHAT WILL IT COVER?
Grants will be awarded for up to $5,000 for individuals or up to $10,000 for teams. They are intended to cover the cost of travel, tuition, food and lodging, materials, and related costs. PEF invites teachers to envision broadly, design creatively, and then dive wholeheartedly into a learning adventure that will meet their personal and professional aspirations and also result in classroom applications that enrich student learning. Awards to a team of teachers from one school are encouraged.
MY PROPOSAL INVOLVES IB TRAINING, WHICH WILL IDENTIFY ME AS WORKING AT ONE OF THREE SCHOOLS. IS THIS CONSIDERED AN IDENTIFYING CHARACTERISTIC?
Since there is more than one IB school in the district, you may discuss IB training in your proposal.
WHEN WILL APPLICATIONS, SELECTION AND AWARDS HAPPEN? WHO WILL DECIDE?
From October through late January, the FFT application will be available on PEF’s website. There will be FFT webinars and a PEF information session to help teachers with the application process. Meanwhile PEF and HCDE will invite community representatives to serve on an independent Selection Committee. The committee may include business persons, civic leaders, and union officials, in addition to school district and PEF persons. The Selection Committee will meet in February/March 2012, following the January 27, 2012 application deadline. Fellowships will be announced in March 2012 in time for summer plans.
WHAT IS EXPECTED OF TEACHERS WHO RECEIVE A FELLOWSHIP?
PEF and HCDE fully expect that FFT Teacher Fellows will return to the classroom reinvigorated and with a renewed sense of purpose. As a result, we are confident that they will then transfer the lessons they learned into enriched classroom experiences that will drive student learning. At the end of the summer, each Fellow will write a report describing the learning experience and outlining how they will use it in their curriculum plans. PEF will host a reflection session with the Fellows later in the school year and will continue to work with the Fellows on ways they can continue to be learners and leaders in their schools, helping to empower other teachers as well as drive student learning through compelling, relevant lessons.
HOW DOES THIS FIT WITH THE PRIORITIES OF PEF AND HAMILTON COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION?
PEF’s mission is to improve student achievement. We understand that effective teaching is central to student learning, and we know that the most effective, engaging teachers are learners themselves, who seek personal and professional enrichment in order to stay at the top of their game and rekindle the passion that led them to their profession. Teachers today face a host of new challenges, many related to updating their knowledge and strategies in order to help students face a future of global interconnectedness and technical competency, as well as to meet the higher expectations of the Common Core Curriculum and new STEM content.
As a district, HCDE is considered a state and national model for the ways it has turned schools around and demonstrated that students from all kinds of neighborhoods can and will learn to advanced levels when held to high expectations and nurtured by skilled, passionate teachers. Now there is more work to do, higher standards to meet, and more rigorous international competition that our students must be prepared for.
The PEF Fund for Teacher Fellowships program is the newest of many tools that PEF and HCDE have for boosting student achievement by boosting teacher effectiveness. All of our schools and students will benefit from this and other kinds of rich professional development for our teachers.
HOW DOES FFT DIFFER FROM PEF’s JANE HARBAUGH TEACHER INNOVATION GRANTS?
When funds are available, PEF is pleased to award Jane Harbaugh Teacher Innovation Grants to support creative classroom projects that several teachers in one school choose to do together. The grants are for up to $1,000 and must be used during the school year.
IN WHAT OTHER COMMUNITIES IS FUND FOR TEACHERS AVAILABLE?
FFT has provided funds for teacher fellowships since 2001. They currently work with local education partners in Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Minneapolis, New York City, Oakland, St. Paul, Tulsa, and the states of Wisconsin and Oklahoma. Other awards are made to selected schools in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Washington DC, and the network of Expeditionary Learning schools.