Our Learning & Leadership grants support public school teachers, public education support professionals, and/or faculty and staff in public institutions of higher education for one of the following two purposes:

• Grants to individuals fund participation in high-quality professional development experiences, such as summer institutes or action research; or
• Grants to groups fund collegial study, including study groups, action research, lesson study, or mentoring experiences for faculty or staff new to an assignment.

All professional development must improve practice, curriculum, and student achievement. "One-shot" professional growth experiences, such as attending a national conference or engaging a professional speaker, are discouraged. Decisions regarding the content of the professional growth activities must be based upon an assessment of student work undertaken with colleagues, and must be integrated into the institutional planning process. Grant funds may be used for fees, travel expenses, books, or other materials that enable applicants to learn subject matter, instructional approaches, and skills. Recipients are expected to exercise professional leadership by sharing their new learning with their colleagues.

Amount: The grant amount is $2,000 for individuals and $5,000 for groups engaged in collegial study.

Restrictions: Grant funds may not be used to :

• pursue degrees;
• pay indirect costs, grant administration fees, or salaries; and
• support travel costs or conference fees for more than one person.

With the exception of study groups, applicants may not use grant funds to pay themselves stipends. Funds may not be used for lobbying or religious purposes. Identical applications will not be considered.

Notification: Applications may be submitted at any time. Applicants are encouraged to plan ahead. Applications are reviewed three times per year, every year.

Please give careful attention to the timeline of your grant. Applications that include activities scheduled prior to the date of notification will not be considered.

All grant applicants will be notified in writing. Please do not contact the Foundation regarding the status of your application prior to the notification date.

Duration: Grants will fund activities for twelve months from the date of the award.

Eligibility: Applicants must be practicing U.S:

• public school teachers in grades PreK–12;
• public school education support professionals, or;
• faculty and staff at public higher education institutions.

Administrators may not apply for Learning & Leadership grants. Preference will be given to members of the National Education Association. The NEA Foundation encourages grant applications from:

• teachers with less than seven years of experience in the profession
• education support professionals*

*Education support professionals can be classifed as: para-educators, school bus drivers, maintenance and custodial staff, food services staff, school nurses and student services workers, clerical and office assistants, school security officers, and technicians.  

Employees, members of the board of directors, and immediate family members of the staff and board of the NEA Foundation are not eligible to receive grants. Employees of the National Education Association are not eligible to receive grants.

Read the application instructions

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