2013 Teacher Fellowship Information Session Partner Logo Fund for Teachers © 2012 All Rights Reserved

Eligibility  Be employed by a Wisconsin DPI School of Recognition  Teach in a Pre-K through 12th grade classroom  Have a minimum of three years classroom teaching experience (may be in the third year at time of application)  Student and substitute teaching do not count toward the three year teaching requirement  Spend at least 50% of a full-time position in direct instruction with students in a classroom or classroom-like setting  Have the intention of returning to teaching in your school/district in the consecutive school year  Teachers may be awarded a Fund for Teachers grant once every three (3) years. *See your program guidelines for specific eligibility requirements. Fund for Teachers © 2012 All Rights Reserved

Program Elements Fund for Teachers © 2012 All Rights Reserved Individual teachers may apply for up to $5,000 OR Teams of teachers may apply for up to $10,000. Teachers will design their own professional development, considering both their own learning as teachers and the overall improvement of the school. This grant is dedicated to fostering opportunities that bring fresh perspective, expertise, and broad world knowledge into classrooms. Examples of projects they have funded in the past include: Exploring Hawaii’s active volcanoes; Studying Islam through Morocco’s political, social, and economic development; Conducting research on the chemical impact of Puerto Rico’s environment; Participating in a hands-on study of Beluga whales; Trekking across Laos learning about Hmong culture; Sharpening Spanish skills in Guatemala; and Tracing the early development of the United States in Philadelphia, New York, and Washington, DC.

Grant Writing Tips  The Basics:  Use the tools provided:  Proposal Writing Tips and Excerpts  Scoring Rubric  Follow the Guidelines  Proofread your proposal  Have someone read and score your proposal Fund for Teachers © 2012 All Rights Reserved

Proposal Scoring Grants are evaluated 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 Fund for Teachers © 2012 All Rights Reserved

Section I: Rationale and Purpose  When thinking about your teaching practice what would you like to learn?  What are the key questions you want to explore?  What challenge or passion inspires your proposed fellowship? Answer each of the following questions: Fund for Teachers © 2012 All Rights Reserved

Section II: Project Description 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? Fund for Teachers © 2012 All Rights Reserved

Section III: Teacher Growth and Learning Answer each of the following questions:  How will your fellowship help you to address your key questions and/or learning goals?  How will this fellowship help you grow as a teacher? Fund for Teachers © 2012 All Rights Reserved

Section IV: Student Growth and Learning Answer each of the following questions:  How will students benefit from your proposed fellowship?  What meaningful additions will this experience bring to your classroom? Fund for Teachers © 2012 All Rights Reserved

Section V: Benefits to School Community 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 the fellowship learning with colleagues? Fund for Teachers © 2012 All Rights Reserved

Section VI: Plan for Fellowship Implementation Outline a plan for implementing learning from your proposed fellowship within your classroom or school. Planning a clear structure for bringing learning back to students contributes to a more focused experience in the field. Your implementation plan may be:  (1) Curricular Unit/Project Outline: Focus on goals, student skills, general content, teaching methods, student outcomes, evidence of student learning and assessment ideas.  (2) Action Plan: Focus on the goals, strategy, evidence of student learning and outcomes for new classroom or school-wide structures. Fund for Teachers © 2012 All Rights Reserved

Section VII: Budget Narrative & Itemized Budget  Brief narrative that demonstrates thorough planning and research. Explain the rationale for the project’s expenses; also, provide the project dates and approximate costs.  Include the sources used to arrive at your final itinerary within the narrative.  If your budget includes a technology expense, specify: why the item is necessary to your fellowship’s success, why you selected the particular brand/type and whether you have experience using the technology.  Note: Food costs cannot exceed $50 per day and should reflect actual destination rates.  ITEMIZED BUDGET: This form is generated by the online application. Fund for Teachers © 2012 All Rights Reserved

Navigating the Online Application  Create an account (ALL Applicants! This includes each member of a TEAM)  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 print the cover sheet or advance past the coversheet until all other member have completed cover sheets and submitted.  Team members must submit before printing their cover sheet  Three parts to the application  Cover Sheet  Proposal  Itemized Budget Sheet  List expenses on the Itemized Budget Fund for Teachers © 2012 All Rights Reserved

How to Apply  Apply online at:  TIP: Compose your grant Proposal in a word processing program; then cut and paste your Proposal into the online application  Applications available October 2012  Application Deadline: January 31, 2013  Coversheets must be postmarked by January 31, 2013 Each team member must complete a cover sheet.  ALL applicants will be mailed notifications on March 29, 2013 Fund for Teachers © 2012 All Rights Reserved

 Technical Assistance Webinars the DPI Teacher Fellowship website We will be scheduling TWO live webinars in December and January to offer live support as you complete applications.  LIKE us on Facebook! Tips and updates posted often Teacher-Fellowship-Program/ Teacher-Fellowship-Program/ Fund for Teachers © 2012 All Rights Reserved

Questions? Lara Kain Education Consultant Wisconsin Dept. of Public Instruction 125 S. Webster St. Madison, WI Shelley Simpson Fund for Teachers 2000 Post Oak Blvd., Ste. 100 Houston, TX Fund for Teachers © 2012 All Rights Reserved