Funding Professional Development

In these lean times, getting funding for professional development opportunities can seem like an insurmountable challenge. With so many other educational needs, professional development is, at times, neglected.

So how do you keep involved in professional activities that enhance your knowledge of the content area, get you energized about teaching, and help you stay on top of innovative teaching practices?

With a grant, of course!

Today's savvy educators are asking everyone from the federal government to private corporations to chip in to make their professional development opportunities become reality. Whether it is attending an important conference that this year's budget just won't allow, conducting action research in your classroom, or disseminating information about an innovative teaching practice, grants are available for a wide variety of professional development needs.

No Request too Small (or too Big)
Some grant programs are designed to help individuals fund small projects, such as the FLAMeS Project Awards from Mathematics Education Trust. This grant funds travel, subsistence expenses, and substitute teacher costs of up to $1000 to attend the National Teachers of Mathematics Annual Meeting.

Slightly larger in scope, the NEA Foundation for the Improvement of Education makes small grants to help teachers pursue a wide range of professional development opportunities. Some past examples of funded projects include the following:

• An environmental science teacher from Florida attended a week-long workshop at the Owl Research Institute in Montana, enhancing her specialized knowledge of the species.
• A 5th grade language arts teacher from Illinois received funds to lead a three-day summer workshop for teachers on research-based exemplary practices in teaching reading comprehension skills.
• A high school science teacher from Iowa received support to take an advanced graduate course in diatoms. She then used her knowledge to develop a series of lessons on population biology and classification, which have been slated for use in a statewide curriculum initiative.

Other grants are created to assist teachers in furthering their education or credentials. Some states, such as Florida, offer grants to teachers pursuing National Board Certification by paying up to 90% of the application fee ($2300 for 2001-2002 candidates).

While small grants are limited in scope and primarily involve just one or two people in the experience, others are designed to help fund larger projects that require greater resources. These projects can stretch the definition of professional development when they involve direct instruction.

The Toyota TAPESTRY program, for example, provides grants of up to $10,000 for classroom teachers proposing innovative science teaching programs.

One of this year's winning TAPESTRY grants went to a group of teachers at Oak Forest High School in Illinois. The grantees proposed a comprehensive unit of study about Alternative Energy Research that is project-based and involves students taking classes in multiple disciplines. Physics, science, and technology students will work together to build a diesel-hybrid electric car. The car will be built by these students, using fuel synthesized by Chemistry students from soybeans grown by Plant Science students. The project will focus on a common theme that teachers and students can use as a basis for collaboration and discussion.

Projects such as this enhance teachers' professional development because they allow them to venture beyond the traditional classroom model to pursue new approaches to teaching and learning. Teachers involved in explorations of these kinds grow as educators along the way.

What's the hitch?
Many professional development grants do come with a small hitch: grantees are usually expected to share the knowledge they have gained from the experience with other educators. This can be elaborate, involving the development of training materials and on-site in-service training, or it can consist of a single workshop or presentation on what was learned at the professional development event.

It is a good idea to include in your grant application plans for sharing the knowledge you have gained from the experience.

Who gives grants?
A wide variety of grantmaking organizations fund professional development activities for teachers. These include

• Governmental agencies: U.S. Department of Education, state education departments, school districts
• Private foundations
• Private corporations (usually from the charitable giving office)
• Education associations, including the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers
• Professional teaching organizations such as the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics and the National Science Teachers Association

While there are many sites that list grants, teachers will want to filter out those that exclude individuals from applying. A short list of grants available to individual educators is available in Teaching Today's Web Resources section.

Where do I start?
Start with a good idea and nail down the details. Exactly which conference do you want to attend and why is it important for you to go? Who else will be involved in this project? What outcomes do you expect from this experience?

Once you've begun to brainstorm, feel free to use the Grant Proposal Design Planner to focus your ideas into usable form. After you have narrowed down your idea, it is time to start writing. There are many good resources on writing grants, including those located at SchoolGrants.org. Also, be sure to check out the free Grant Writing Primer offered by Teaching Today.

Be thorough when researching grant opportunities. Be sure your objectives fit within the stated mission and guidelines published by the grantmaker. Don't lose time by proposing projects that fall outside those guidelines.

Finding the money to fund those professional development opportunities may be a challenge, but it will pay you back in spades.

Read More About Finding and Writing Grants
Teaching Today Web Resources
Teaching Today has collected a short list of Web sites listing education grants available to individuals and groups of teachers (rather than those only available to organizations and school districts).

SchoolGrants
SchoolGrants was created to help fill the needs of the K-12 education community in locating and applying for grants so that some of the dream projects of our nation's teachers can be realized. Sharing successful proposals and other tips and information with your colleagues is an excellent way to help all children across the United States.

US Department of Education Funding Opportunities
This page provides links to a majority of grants available from the US government. Many are geared toward larger reform projects.

The Foundation Center
This comprehensive 'super' site contains vast amounts of information about philanthropic organizations making grants in the United States. It includes funding trends and analyses; information about the fundraising process; and an online directory of private foundations, corporations, and other grantmaking entities fitted with a powerful search engine.