Foundations Programs: Secondary Education
National Humanities Center, Research Triangle Park, NC (Professional development resources in history and literature).Trustees recognize the need to improve secondary education in this country. In keeping with the Foundations' historical emphasis on education, they believe that carefully targeted, thoughtful funding can contribute to strengthening education in grades 9 - 12. In order to concentrate efforts in this broad area, grants are made for innovative professional development programs that strengthen teachers and their teaching in grades 9-12.
Special consideration will be given to projects in their early stages that address the concerns and problems of secondary education on a national level. Therefore, proposals should strive to develop solutions with potential for wide application or replication by others. Evaluation is often an important component. Requests to support well-established programs should be for initiatives with the potential to improve the program significantly. Proposals should indicate other sources of support for the project, including contributions of the requesting institution and plans for sustained funding beyond the term of the grant. Normally, proposals that result only in local betterment will not be competitive.
In considering proposals to support high school teaching, the Foundations encourage sustained partnerships between the faculties of colleges (e.g., arts and sciences and education) and school districts, or collaborative efforts involving reform organizations, colleges/universities and high schools. Proposals may cover a wide range of initiatives intended to improve teaching. For example, projects might be designed to improve professional development for in-service and pre-service teachers, strengthen teaching skills, support practical research in teacher and high school education, or encourage innovative use of technology and new techniques for presentation of classroom materials in high schools.
Proposals under this program must be signed by the head of the institution or organization. Institutions eligible for funding in this program area include, but are not limited to, public and private colleges and universities, graduate schools of education and freestanding educational institutes.
Receipt of a grant under the secondary education program by a private college or university does not affect its chances of receiving a separate grant in the private higher education program category. Only in exceptional cases will proposals be accepted directly from individual secondary schools or school districts. Grants made in this program area range from $100,000 to an upper limit of $200,000.
For Frequently Asked Questions in Secondary Education, please click here.
