Charting a Course Forward

We know you are wondering about the status of 2021 FFT grants. So are we. What we do know is that 2020 Fellows’ grants are deferred to 2021 and we are dedicated to making experiential learning happen for as many teachers as possible. Check back on November 1 for our 2021 plans and check out what we’re working on now with current Fellows below.

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As our 2020 Fellows are well aware, 496 teachers awarded Fund for Teachers grants were not able to pursue their plans due to Covid 19. Their grants are extended until next summer, assuming the world will open back up by then. That said, Fund for Teachers is more than simply a fellowship — it is a membership into an elite cohort of 9,000+ public, private and charter school teachers from across the country who are dedicated to their personal advancement and student achievement. What does that mean?

For the past two years, Fund for Teachers has consulted our Fellows, donors and philanthropic industry leaders to navigate opportunities that extend the value of an initial grant and exponentially multiply its impact with students. Consequently, we have reframed how our organization, through our Fellows, ignites leadership in America’s classrooms. This month, we’ll focus on sharing what this means both for our mission (which remains the same) and also our future.

The Ramsden Project

To empower our Fellows with a network of peers who share their curiosity and courage, we created a community called The Ramsden Project. This “alumni group”  provides Fellows with support and resources beyond their fellowship: The conferences, connections, workshops and learnings that are built both online and off to support great teachers. It outlines an uncommon vision: placing the learning needs of a teacher as a cornerstone for successful education. The Ramsden Project proclaims that through experiential learning, bold experimentation and the realization of personal ambition, teachers are better equipped to impart tools and skills which serve their students far beyond the boundaries of the classroom walls.​ While the grant program will continue unchanged, we’re choosing to focus on what teachers can continue to contribute after coming through the program. Our FFT Fellows have proven with great success that whenever teachers define their own learning opportunities, educational growth follows for both their communities and their students.

The Ramsden Project takes its inspiration from the Ramsden sextant developed by Jesse Ramsden in 1800.

 

“We’re an organization that believes in order to give students the tools and skills they need to succeed in life, we must first give them exceptional educators,” said Karen Eckhoff, Fund for Teachers’ executive director. “We know that good teachers become great ones when we give them the resources and opportunities to develop as people and professionals. In the same way an engineer must complete regular continuing education to maintain their practice, or a scientist might participate in a research exchange to observe new techniques, so must teachers have the opportunity to grow in their subject matter. The Ramsden Project is our commitment to that philosophy in action, funding a support networks which push the boundaries of what education can truly accomplish.”​

We look forward to sharing more about The Ramsden Project in the weeks to come, but you can learn more now at theramsdenproject.org.

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Read the Charter (pictured above) that guides describes the caliber of teacher The Ramsden Project strives to serve.