Press Release: Public Education Foundation Announces 2025 Fund for Teachers Fellows

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (April 9, 2025) — For the 14th consecutive year, Hamilton County Schools teachers have been awarded grants for self-designed summer fellowships to enrich student learning. Public Education Foundation (PEF), in partnership with Fund for Teachers (FFT), is proud to announce the 2025 FFT Fellows: 11 Hamilton County public school teachers who will travel around the world this summer to pursue learning experiences they designed in response to the needs of the students they serve. Their fellowships will bring new ideas, global perspectives, and deeper engagement to hundreds of students for many years to come.

“Congratulations to these extraordinary teachers!” said Dan Challener, President of Public Education Foundation. “Each of these exceptional teachers won a fellowship that will allow them to spend part of their summer deepening their knowledge of the subjects they teach. Given the dramatic increase in our community of students from families with roots in South and Central America, I was especially impressed our teachers wrote and won grants to study in Argentina, Belize, Columbia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Peru.”

Since 2001, Fund for Teachers has invested more than $39 million in 10,225 teachers nationwide, empowering them to create powerful, self-designed learning experiences for their students. For the past 14 years, PEF has partnered with Fund for Teachers to make this opportunity more accessible to Hamilton County Schools educators. Thanks to this partnership, Hamilton County educators compete for fellowships within their own community rather than the national pool, significantly increasing their opportunity to be awarded a fellowship. In Hamilton County alone, 231 teachers have been awarded fellowships. The 2025 Fund for Teachers Fellows and their fellowships include:

• Selina Stone of East Lake Elementary School will study innovative approaches to English language instruction in Buenos Aires, Argentina, while strengthening her Spanish fluency and cultural awareness to better support English learners.

• Danielle Ambriz and Angela Beahm of East Ridge Elementary School will explore the ecosystems of Belize’s rainforests and the Mayan cultural heritage of Guatemala to develop classroom lessons on environmental stewardship and Indigenous conservation practices. This fellowship was generously funded by the Maxwell Hanrahan Foundation.

• Sam Dawood of East Ridge Elementary School will engage in language exchanges, professional workshops, and community projects in Bogotá and Ibagué, Colombia, and in Guatemala to celebrate students’ cultural identities and enhance language learning experiences.

• Kari Mays of East Ridge High School will conduct field research on bird populations in Costa Rica to build mathematical models that connect data analysis skills to environmental science and students’ cultural backgrounds. This fellowship was generously funded by the Maxwell Hanrahan Foundation.

• Stephanie Smith of Hixson Middle School will teach and serve communities in Guatemala and Peru while studying Spanish and exploring local cultural sites to build a more inclusive classroom environment that reflects the diversity of students' lived experiences.

• Elisabeth Wilson of Sale Creek Middle/High School will investigate the mathematical principles behind ancient Greek architecture and connect historical innovations to modern technologies like artificial intelligence to encourage critical thinking in students.

• Kimberly Brown of Signal Mountain Middle/High School will examine Costa Rica’s efforts to address climate change through green jobs and sustainable workforce development to design a Career Explorations curriculum focused on environmental problem-solving.

• Allison Fuller-Mulloy of Signal Mountain Middle/High School will study the arts, architecture, and cultural traditions of Vietnam and Cambodia to diversify and globalize the school’s art curriculum.

• Savannah Manuel of Snow Hill Elementary School will attend the European Federation of Art Therapy conference in London and pursue art studies in Florence, Italy, to integrate therapeutic art practices into Social and Emotional Learning programs.

• Reid Daniels of Soddy Daisy High School will research sites in the United States and Japan tied to the development and aftermath of the atomic bomb to guide student research on historical, ethical, and cultural impacts.

  
  

“Teachers play the pivotal role in shaping students' academic success and, in many cases, their social and emotional well-being in an increasingly unpredictable world,” said Karen Eckhoff, executive director of Fund for Teachers. “Fund for Teachers believes that their unwavering commitment to America's students deserves our full support, empowering educators to pursue the growth opportunities they deem most impactful for their students' futures.”

A celebration dinner and orientation for the 2025 Fellows will take place on Tuesday, April 29th.

ABOUT FUND FOR TEACHERS

Fund for Teachers supports preK-12 teachers’ pursuit of learning experiences that impact their practice, students, and school communities. By awarding grants for self-designed fellowships, Fund for Teachers empowers educators as professionals, role models, explorers, and scholars. For more information, visit fundforteachers.org.