Part Two: Proposal & Budget
Part Two: Proposal
Consists of five sections and should articulate creative, thoughtful activities or projects that demonstrate potential for learning for the teacher, the student, and the school community.
- Create and save your proposal using a word processor, avoiding any formatting.
- 25,000 characters, including spaces, (approx. six and half, single spaced, typed pages) cumulative for all five sections.
- Avoid identifying references: Please refrain from using your name, your school or district names within your proposal to ensure an anonymous selection process.
- Avoid using hyperlinks and web addresses.
- Refer to the Scoring Criteria when addressing each of the five proposal sections.
- TEAMS:
- Proposals should reflect collaboration and demonstrate your ability to work successfully as a team. Team members should be active participants in the writing process. They should also understand that they are financially responsible for their portion of the grant if awarded.
- Only the team lead is responsible for entering the proposal.
Sections:
A response to each application question is required. These questions are designed to guide you in building your proposal, but they should not limit what you share. Applicants are encouraged to provide any additional information that helps articulate their fellowship goals and vision. Equally important, please review the Scoring Criteria (found under Quick Links), as these criteria reflect what the Selection Committee will use to evaluate applications and make award recommendations. Familiarizing yourself with them will help ensure that your narrative not only addresses the application questions but also aligns with the expectations for a highly rated proposal.
- Fellowship Purpose and Overarching Goals
- Describe a skill or area of knowledge you would like to develop further as an educator. What motivates you to pursue this learning, and how does it connect to your students’ strengths, culture(s), or interests?
- How will this learning enhance your ability to meet the diverse needs of your students? What anticipated impact do you see on students’ learning experiences?
- Describe what you know about your students, including but not limited to: their collective learning needs, culture(s), interests, and academic performance. How do these factors shape your fellowship goals? What data and/or stories support the need for change in their learning experiences?
- What are the overarching goals of your fellowship, and how are these goals aligned to both your professional growth and the needs of your students?
- Don’t forget: Include what subject and grade level you teach!
- Fellowship Plan
- What is your summer learning plan and what key activities will you experience to achieve your goals?
- Provide a detailed rationale for each activity. How do these activities connect to your professional growth and to your students’ learning needs, strengths, culture(s), and/or interests?
- How will your plan incorporate opportunities to learn from experts and engage in real-world experiences that push the boundaries of your current practice?
- How will this fellowship encourage your learning about different cultures and perspectives?
- Why have you chosen to pursue this learning opportunity in a specific location or institution?
- What unique aspects of this destination make it essential for your professional growth and for connecting to your students’ learning needs, strengths, culture(s), and/or interests?
- Teacher Growth and Learning
- What personal and intellectual challenges do you anticipate encountering during your fellowship, and how will addressing these challenges foster your growth?
- How will you ensure that you learn deeply from immersive experiences on your fellowship? What strategies will help you reflect, analyze, and grow from these experiences?
- What diverse perspectives or transformative moments do you hope to encounter, and how will engaging with them deepen your growth and strengthen your teaching practice?
- How will this fellowship help you learn more about your students’ strengths, culture(s), and/or interests, and how will this knowledge contribute to your instructional practice?
- In what ways will this fellowship help you design learning experiences that are more relevant and impactful for your students?
- Student and Stakeholder Experience
- How will you refine or create new student learning experiences because of your summer learning? How will these experiences increase relevance for students and align with your overarching goals and their needs? (e.g. new units, practices, routines, methods, classroom activities, school initiatives, or other student-centered experiences)?
- How will you design opportunities for students to engage in authentic, real-world and cognitively challenging work? In what ways will this allow students to reflect on and build from their own strengths, interests, and cultures?
- What strategies will you use to build partnerships with stakeholders (e.g., colleagues, parents, families, community members) and how will you enable your students to do the same? How will these partnerships foster greater student agency and leadership in their communities?
- Discuss the feasibility of the proposed changes within your school context. What conditions, supports, or challenges in your school environment will shape how you bring these new student learning experiences and partnerships to life?
- Budget Narrative
- Provide a detailed budget for your fellowship, including all anticipated needs.
- Explain how each budget item supports the achievement of your fellowship goals and aligns with the activities outlined in your learning plan.
- Include a time frame and breakdown of costs, approximate costs as closely as possible. Consider the timing of fund distribution when planning your fellowship activities.
- How have you ensured that your budget is research-based and adheres to grant guidelines?
- Team budgets should include both costs broken down by individual and totals for the whole team.
- NOTE: We strongly advise you against under budgeting. The cost of your fellowship is not a consideration in the selection process. Fund for Teachers is unable to increase your budget after you are selected.
Part Three: Itemized Budget Sheet
By completing the Itemized Budget Sheet, you will break your budget narrative down into a line-item listing. Teams: Only the team leader is responsible for entering the itemized budget.
Budget Considerations to Note:
- If including a technology expense, specify why the item is necessary for the fellowship's success; why you have chosen the specific brand/type; and whether you have prior experience using the technology. Technology expenses should not be the bulk of your proposed budget, but a necessary tool to successfully complete your fellowship.
- Food costs should reflect actual destination rates and cannot exceed $50 per day/per person. This is NOT per diem; receipts will be required.
- Breakdown of Expenses to be Detailed on Itemized Budget
- TRANSPORTATION: any fare to and from destination. Estimate rental cost based on current gasoline prices. For personal vehicles, calculate the mileage at a rate of $.76/mile. Grant funding can only cover mileage or gasoline, not both.
- LODGING: Seek moderately priced motels/hotels or, if applicable, home stays.
- FOOD: Food costs should reflect actual destination rates and cannot exceed $50 per day/per person.
- PARTICIPATION COSTS: Tour, registration, and course/program fees.
- MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES: Includes, but not limited to, books, reference materials, artifacts, or realia.
- EQUIPMENT: Includes, but not limited to, cameras, recorders, laboratory equipment and computer hardware necessary for fellowship and classroom implementation. Please consider borrowing these pieces of equipment from your school, if available. Any equipment purchased with the grant funds must be accessible to entire school upon return.
- OTHER: Specific costs of your fellowship not outlined in the preceding categories. Please give clear descriptions of these expenses. Use the Budget Narrative for any further explanation.
- NON-ALLOWABLE: Certain products and services are not to be purchased using grant funds, such as toiletries, telecommunications, souvenirs, childcare, student travel, bank/credit card fees and graduate credit hours. Access the full list of non-allowable expenses under Quick Links.
Part Four: Finalizing your Submission
On the final page of the application, the following information will be collected:
- Estimated Dates of Fellowship
- Length of Fellowship
- Destinations
