Application Deadline Extended for Fund for Teachers Grants
The Fund for Teachers is extending its deadline for teachers to apply for self-designed professional development grants until 5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 24. Teachers can apply online at www.fundforteachers.org.
The program awards fellowships of up to $5,000 for individual teachers and up to $10,000 for teams of teachers for self-designed professional development experiences to take place anywhere in the world during the summer months. Fund for Teachers’ mission is to strengthen instruction by investing in outstanding teachers’ self-determined professional growth and development to support student success, enrich their own practice, and strengthen their schools and communities. The Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence and the Tulsa Community Foundation are longtime administrative partners in the program.
Fellowships are open to Oklahoma Pre-K through 12th-grade teachers in public, private, parochial and charter schools. Applicants must have at least three years of teaching experience, be full-time employees and spend 50 percent or more of their time in a classroom setting. In addition, applicants must have the intention of returning to their school and/or district following their summer professional development. School administrators are not eligible for the grants.
Teachers are encouraged to take advantage of this deadline extension and apply for experiences that seek solutions to genuine problems of practice and encourage students to become active changemakers in their own communities.
“While teachers are facing phenomenal challenges in the classroom right now, it is important that we give them opportunities to pursue positive experiences that can both strengthen and enrich their teaching practice,” said Elizabeth Inbody, executive director of the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence.
“Teachers who are empowered by life-changing learning experiences inspire their students to change their perspective as well and grow in new ways. It’s a win-win for the classroom.”
Since 2006, the Fund for Teachers program in Oklahoma has provided more than $3.2 million in grant funds to 914 Oklahoma teachers, with learning odysseys covering all teaching subjects on nearly every continent in the world.
For more information about Fund for Teachers or to apply for a grant, please visit www.fundforteachers.org or contact Sara Wilson at swilson@ofe.org; (405) 236-0006, Ext. 12.
