Agnes Meyer Outstanding Teacher Award
The Agnes Meyer Outstanding Teacher Award was developed by Washington Post Company Educational Foundation to commemorate Agnes Meyer, the wife of the Post’s former owner and a staunch supporter of public education. The awards program aims to recognize excellence in teaching, encourage creative and quality instruction, and contribute in a substantive way to the improvement of education in the Washington metropolitan area. Each year, The Washington Post recognizes one DCPS teacher to be honored at a ceremony in the spring and awarded a $1,000 prize. Recipients must be rated Highly Effective, have five years of teaching experience, including three in DCPS, and must be full-time, PK–12 teachers. Please contact [email protected] with any questions about the award or nomination process.
CityBridge Breakthrough Design Fellowship
The Breakthrough Design Fellowship is a semester-long program for educators at Breakthrough Schools to develop the mindsets and skills necessary to redesign schools for intentional equity. Schools designed for equity challenge our country’s ongoing narrative of disinheritance for some children, based on their race, class, or story. Faculty at schools that are grant recipients of the CityBridge Education Breakthrough Schools program are eligible to participate.
Each semester, groups of up to three colleagues from the redesigning Breakthrough Schools will come together as a cohort for four monthly full-day workshops. A total of 20-30 educators from across the Breakthrough School community will participate each semester. They will develop a toolkit of skills integrating human-centered design and racial equity work in order to build and test personalized learning models and expansive measures of student success. Fellows will also document their work in a portfolio to share with the larger Breakthrough Schools community. The purpose of the program is to build the capacity of redesign teams at Breakthrough Schools so that they can run faster toward their redesign visions. Experienced teachers, instructional coaches, or staff who are excited to develop skills in intentional equity and design thinking should talk with their school leaders about being nominated to apply. To learn more about the program, please visit citybridge.org/fellowship. For questions, reach out to Andrew Pratt at [email protected].
DonorsChoose.org
DonorsChoose.org is a nonprofit organization that connects public school teachers with people who want to provide financial support to individual classrooms. The organization provides an avenue for public schoolteachers to submit project requests for specific materials. Donors choose which projects to support and then DonorsChoose.org delivers the materials directly to schools. In return, teachers post photos of the materials in use and mail student thank you letters to donors. To learn more about this program and how to be a successful DonorsChoose.org teacher, visit donorschoose.org/teachers.
Fishman Prize
Launched in 2012, the Fishman Prize for Superlative Classroom Practice is an annual award for exceptionally effective teachers working in high-need public schools, awarded by TNTP. No more than five teachers are awarded the prize each year. The prize is named for Shira Fishman, a TNTP-trained math teacher currently teaching at McKinley Technology High School in DCPS.
In addition to receiving $25,000, Fishman Prize winners participate in an intensive summer residency during which they reflect critically on their classroom practice, explore the larger issues that shape their profession, and write a short paper on the elements of effective teaching. The residency enables the winners to share their expertise with educators across the country without taking time away from the classrooms where they do their best work. For more information or to apply for nomination, visit tntp.org/fishman-prize.
GLOBE Fellowship
The GLOBE Fellowship is an opportunity for current DCPS World Language teachers with at least one year of teaching experience in DCPS to further develop their instructional practices, content knowledge, as well as leadership skills. Fellows will be involved in monthly professional development opportunities and will be expected to collaborate with World Language Specialists on a variety of topics and initiatives including, but not limited to the following: learning and implementing instructional best practices, participating and planning a World Language advocacy initiative, and further developing World Language curricular resources and materials. For more information, please contact [email protected].
Math for America DC Master Teacher Fellowship
The Math for America (MfA) DC Master Teacher Fellowship is a five-year program for outstanding, experienced secondary mathematics teachers. Teachers in the program participate in professional development activities, work with other MfA DC fellows, and pursue mathematical and educational interests. Participants in the program receive a $55,000 stipend over five years.
Teachers who are interested in the program must hold at least a bachelor’s degree and preferably a master’s degree with a concentration in math, have at least four years of experience teaching math in DCPS or other public or public charter secondary schools, and meet the current MfA requirement for scores on the Praxis II exam. To learn more about the application timeline and process, please visit www.mathforamerica.org.
Milken Educator Award
Established in 1987 as an initiative of the Milken Family Foundation, the Milken Educator Awards program rewards and inspires excellence in the world of education by honoring top educators around the country with $25,000 unrestricted awards. Not an accolade for “lifetime achievement” or the proverbial gold watch at the exit door, the Milken Educator Awards targets early-to-mid career education professionals for their already impressive achievements and, more significantly, for the promise of what they will accomplish in the future. For more information, visit www.milkeneducatorawards.org.
National History Teacher of the Year
The National History Teacher of the Year Award recognizes outstanding K–12 American history teachers across the country. Any full-time educator of grades K–12 who teaches American history (including state and local history) is eligible for consideration. American history may be taught as an individual subject or through social studies, reading, language arts, and other subjects. Teachers must be nominated for this award. The nominated teacher must have at least three years of classroom teaching experience and plan to teach for at least one year following the award year. For more information, visit www.gilderlehrman.org.
PBS LearningMedia Digital Innovators
The year-long PBS LearningMedia Digital Innovators (LMDI) Program is designed to foster and grow a national community of digitally savvy educators. LMDIs will receive one year of free professional development, including access to virtual trainings, exclusive resources, and membership into a robust professional learning community, as well as invitations to special events and networking and engagement opportunities with peers and thought leaders. LMDIs may also earn a chance to attend to PBS LearningMedia Digital Innovation Summit in Washington, D.C., in June. Applications are due in February. For more information, visit www.pbs.org/education/digitalinnovators.
Physical Education Emerging Leaders (PEEL) Fellowship (EST-EXP image)
The Office of Teaching and Learning’s Health and Physical Education department oversees the Physical Education Emerging Leaders (PEEL) Fellowship. The year-long PEEL Fellowship builds teacher capacity and establishes schools that serve as a district-wide model of implementing a successful Physical Education program and increasing physical activity opportunities for students. The fellowship runs from August 2017 to June 2018. All current DCPS Health and Physical education teachers are encouraged to apply for the PEEL Fellowship. The application is available online each April and due in mid-May. For more information, contact [email protected].
Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching
The Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) are the highest honors bestowed by the United States government specifically for K–12 mathematics and science (including computer science) teaching. Established by Congress in 1983, the PAEMST program authorizes the President to bestow up to 108 awards each year. Recipients of the award receive the following: a certificate signed by the President of the United States; a paid trip for two to Washington, DC, to attend a series of recognition events and professional development opportunities; and a $10,000 award from the National Science Foundation.
In addition to recognizing outstanding teaching in mathematics or science (including computer science), the program provides teachers with an opportunity to build lasting partnerships with colleagues across the nation. This growing network of award-winning teachers serves as a vital resource for improving science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education and keeping America globally competitive. Nominations are due in April. For more information, visit www.paemst.org.
Standing Ovation for DC Teachers
Standing Ovation is an annual celebration of the district’s highly effective educators and includes awards for teachers, support staff, and school leadership. Each year, nominees are interviewed by a panel including Central Office team members, previous award winners, principals, instructional superintendents, and other DCPS community members. Awards include Teacher of the Year, Principal of the Year, and New Teacher of the Year. Learn more about Standing Ovation and previous award winners at www.standingovationfordcteachers.org.
Spotlight: Milton Bryant
Milton has taught 3rd-5th grade at Ketcham Elementary over the past six years. As a TLI LEAP Coach, Milton has supported his colleagues as the school’s Math and Blended Learning Coach. During his tenure at Ketcham, Milton has participated in the CityBridge Innovation in Education Fellowship and the Chancellor’s Teachers’ Cabinet. Milton was also the winner of a Standing Ovation Rubenstein Award for Highly Effective Teaching and the TNTP Fishman Prize for Superlative Classroom Practice during the 2016-2017 school year.
Teacher leadership has allowed me to grow and become more of a change agent within education. As a teacher leader, I am able to support in the development of my students, other teachers, and in creating educational policies.