For the tenth consecutive year, Hamilton County Schools teachers have earned grants for self-designed summer fellowships to enrich student learning. The grants are made possible by the national non-profit Fund for Teachers and are administered locally through a partnership with the Public Education Foundation. Fund for Teachers invests in educators’ skills, knowledge, and confidence to impact student achievement by allowing teachers to design their unique fellowships.
“PEF is, once again, delighted to provide Hamilton County teachers the opportunity to learn even more about the subjects they teach—and to do their studying anywhere in the world,” said Dr. Dan Challener, president of the Public Education Foundation. “Over the last decade, thanks to the partnership between PEF and Fund for Teachers, nearly 200 HCS teachers from 40 different HCS schools have had the opportunity to study everything from geothermal energy in Iceland to digital fabrication in China, from the wilderness in Alaska to the Lewis and Clark trail in Montana. It speaks volumes of their commitment to their students that so many HCS teachers spend their summers expanding their knowledge for the benefit of our students.”
Fund for Teachers allotted more than $17,000 in grant awards for Hamilton County teachers this year. All preK-12 teachers were invited to apply for up to $5,000 as individuals or $10,000 as a team. Four grant recipients from three schools will explore a total of five countries and at least 10 cities across the world as they embark on personalized learning journeys.
The 2022 cohort includes:
Marcie Williams of Ooltewah High School will explore science museums in San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle. She will also attend the International Physics and Astronomy Educator Program at the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory in Richland, Wa. to learn methods for introducing high school students to classical physics, modern physics and astronomy using inquiry-based activities that incorporate physics into real-life applications.
Justin Walley of Ooltewah High School and Vanessa Moss of Central High School will explore sustainable living practices across Alaska to create student buy-in and construction of a functional model that shifts student thinking toward human impact on the environment. Upon return, they will help to launch a new school initiative for next-generation sustainable living.
Brooke Hopkins of Soddy Daisy High School will explore multiple cities in Northern and Central Europe to better understand the individual, lived experiences of the Holocaust in order to build a greater understanding of the systematic way the Nazis exterminated more than six million Jews. Through this experience, she aims to help students feel connected to the victims, perpetrators, and bystanders of the Holocaust and its undeniable place in our history.
“Fund for Teachers strives to value, not just appreciate, educators,” said Karen Eckhoff, FFT executive director. “Value connotes merit, courage and virtue, traits evidenced in our Fellows’ grant proposals, then demonstrated on fellowships and, ultimately, applied in the classroom. Now more than ever, it is imperative we validate and invest in this caliber of teacher.”
As a regional partner with Fund for Teachers, PEF provides targeted support for HCS teachers throughout the rigorous application process. This support has helped approximately 200 HCS teachers earn Fund for Teachers grants and pursue these exciting learning experiences around the globe. The personalized learning model invests directly in veteran teachers as they design and participate in unique professional learning. Following their fellowships, Fellows return to HCS to implement strategies and lessons learned as they craft innovative learning experiences for their students.