Fund for Teachers - The Podcast

Virigina Hall studied at Radcliffe College and Barnard College (the women’s colleges of Harvard and Columbia) and spoke three languages. She served as a consular clerk in Poland and Turkey, where a hunting accident required an amputation below the knee.Noor Inayat Kahn studied child psychology at the Sorbonne and music at the Paris Conservatory. The daughter of Sufi Muslims, she was described as quiet, shy, sensitive, and dreamy.Josephine Baker was an American-born French dancer, singer and actress and the first Black woman to star in a major motion picture. She was a school drop out who ascended to international stardom in France and befriended the likes of Ernest Hemingway and Pablo Picasso.A studious amputee, a shy artist, and a flamboyant entertainer. Who also happened to be secret agents during World War II and integral to the Resistance movement against the Axis powers. Could these women, who confronted sexism, ableism, racism, who refused to speak under Nazi interrogation and bamboozled German officials while extracting secrets also convince West Texas high school students that history is not about “the dead, old and irrelevant.” It was a mission two teachers chose to accept when they also accepted a $10,000 Fund for Teachers grant.Today we’re learning from Renee Parson and Cory Cason, history teachers at Alpine High School in Alpine, Texas, set in the high plateau of the Chihuahuan Desert between the Glass and Davis Mountain Ranges. When not in adjoining classrooms, these women are coaching track and field, sponsoring History Club and supporting students involved in Future Farmers of America and UIL academic contests, among other activities. While the small school environment is rich with opportunities, exposure to the world beyond Brewster County – not so much. Cory and Renee leveraged their interest in female spies to craft a fellowship that researched Virginia Hall, Noor Inayat Khan and Josephine Baker throughout Europe to expand students’ mindset of what can be accomplished when ordinary people employ the courage to defy rigid societal norms in the name of humanity and justice.

Spotify annually sends out its wrap up of your listening habits for the year and Fund for Teachers received a similar one for our podcast. The most downloaded podcast of our year was with today's guest. Stephanie Ascherl is our chief of staff and has been a program officer, as well. Because that episode was SO popular, we're bringing Stephanie back for another edition of "Tips you need to know when completing your grant application." We wanted to produce this podcast at this time as teachers are winding up their chaotic end-of-semester programs and concerts and grading -- going into the winter holiday when they might have some time, after they catch their breath, to revisit their grant proposals and focus a little on themselves, what they want to learn and how they want to help their students.The deadline for submission is January 18, at 5p CT. Access the online application at fft.fundforteachers.org, as well as our Online Learning Center and the recording of a national webinar (with ASL interpreter) for more information. The 2024 FFT Fellow cohort will be announced on April 4, 2024. Good luck!

Lhisa Almashy has amassed many accomplishments in her 28-year career teaching English as a Second Language (or ESOL): a master’s degree in education from the University of San Francisco; a doctorate in Leadership and Learning In Organizations from Vanderbilt; award member from and board member of Learning for Justice, the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Education for the State of Florida and Hispanic Teacher of the Year Award for Palm Beach County among them. But an accomplishment one won’t find on Lhisa’s LinkedIn is the fact that she’s the reason Andover High School in Bloomfield Hills, MI, instituted In School Suspension. What changed Lhisa’s trajectory from not being permitted to graduate high school due to a 1.2 GPA to talking with me from her Fund for Teachers fellowship in Vietnam this summer? A teacher of course…Today we’re learning from Dr. Lhisa Almashy – veteran teacher at Dr. Joaquin Garcia High School in Lake Worth, FL. Her passionate and engaging teaching style has earned her local, state, and national recognition. She believes that building relationships is key to fostering success and a sense of belonging. After not receiving a Fund for Teachers grant on her first try, Lhisa became a 2023 FFT Fellow and used a $5,000 grant to complete homestays throughout Vietnam to improve linguistic awareness and cultural competency and, subsequently, support her increasing number of English Language Learners from this country.I caught up with Lhisa while on her fellowship last summer, and – frankly – it took me this long to synthesize our 90-minute conversation, filled with laughter and tales of poignant encounters, to create this episode. But throughout the editing process, I was reminded of the intrepid nature Fellows share and the vital role Fund for Teachers grants play in keeping them curious, inspired and in the classroom. 

When preparing to interview Fellows for this podcast, I’ll do a little research to provide listeners with some context. Usually, that Google search yields LinkedIn accounts, local media coverage, and sometimes statistics from high school glory days. With today’s guest, I ended up on IMDB -- an online database of information related to films, television series, and streaming content online.My curiosity was piqued.Today we’re learning from Gabe Staino – who has taught for 12 years, both internationally and in the States. But before that, he was childhood friends with Chris Raab,  also known as Raab Himself -- a member of CKY crew featured in the MTV series Viva La Bam and Jackass.  Gabe and Chris roomed together and graduated from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania. Afterwards, lure of Hollywood trumped law school for Gabe, who instead experienced the MTV life with his buddy, toured Europe with the CKY band, and then, with Raab, co-wrote, co-produced and starred in the film Borrowed Happiness (thus the IMDB page). Soon after, Gabe took the advice of a college advisor and turned to teaching, for the past decade that's been at Atlantic County Institute of Technology  in Mays Landing, NJ – where he  teaches US History, an African American History elective, coaches the mock trial team he founded a decade ago, and is a member of the Global Leadership Professional Learning Community. In addition to film credits, Gabe also earned two graduate degrees – one in Secondary Education for History/Social Studies from Stockton University and a Masters in History with a Global Concentration from Arizona State. I thoroughly enjoyed catching up with Gabe from Tanzania after just leaving Ethiopia where he researched Ethiopia's ancient and modern history and culture to more effectively teach about this only African nation never successfully colonized by a European power…

Iceland is known as the Land of Fire and Ice, the most peaceful country in the world 15 years running, and – unfortunately for Big Mac fans – has zero McDonald’s. And, this year, it’s the fellowship destination for seven Fund for Teachers Fellows. Ranging in topic from sustainability and geothermal energy to yoga and elves, grant recipients from Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, and Virginia will learn within the Arctic Circle this summer. Before Fellows begin embarking on their experiential learning, we connect them with other grant recipients who plan to be in the same region or conference. Just this week on our Instagram we shared photos of Fellows meeting up in Egypt, Dallas, Guatemala and Salamanca. However, a driving rain in Reykjavik (and five layers of coats) prevented two Fellows from recognizing each other this week. When one posted a picture, we spotted them both and reached out to coordinate a call and compare notes. And for the next hour, we finagled enough Wifi to enjoy a fascinating conversation with about divergent experiences and intended impact from these exemplary educators. Editing it down was a struggle.Today we’re learning from Laura Nunn, teacher at Patrick Henry Elementary and Instructional Support Leader for Chicago Public Schools, and Frances Rivera, teacher at Ernie Pyle Elementary School in Indianapolis. Frances is in Iceland exploring issues of global warming, biological and cultural conservation, and sustainable development, to develop tools for teaching these issues in a Dual Language classroom. While Laura is there studying the folklore of elves and fairies said to inhabit and protect the Subarctic'snatural landforms and attending the Reykjavik Elf School, then walking sacred sites with scientists and storytellers. She plans to build a cross-curricular unit on what value stories have and how nature impacts the stories we tell.For three years, I’ve started this podcast in the same way with the same question: Why did you become a teacher? This time, the three of us were so excited to connect that we didn’t get around to this question for a bit – but their answers are worth the wait…

While Fund for Teachers has invested $30 million in teacher grants for summer fellowships since 2001, this marks only the second year that we’ve awarded Innovation Circle Grants. To extend the value of our traditional summer fellowships, we created this space for FFT Fellows to connect and collaborate around key priorities in education. Fellows propose innovative inquiries into a predetermined set of topics and, through a selective process, receive up to $1,500 to individually pursue summer learning experiences and then convene virtually with other Fellows to reflect and implement their learning in the classroom.  Today’s podcast is specifically about Innovation Circle Grants – what they are and what they can do – for teachers and their students.Today we’re learning from FFT Fellow Pooja Bhaskar. In 2016, Pooja taught at the International High School for Health Sciences in Queens and used a Fund for Teachers’ grant to achieve intermediate proficiency in the Hindi language in Bombay, India, to better support students and their families emigrating from Tibet, India and Bangladesh. Last summer, with an Innovation Circle Grant, they researched the art, agriculture and history of Guatemala's indigenous groups to incorporate authentic, interdisciplinary artifacts into science curricula for recently immigrated students at the Bronx School for Law, Government and Justice.Download Pooja's curriculum created on Food Activism and Plant Medicine with their grant here.

We’re winding down the month of February -- designated as Black History Month, first celebrated as Negro History Week in 1926 and expanded to a month in 1986 by the United States Congress. According to the Association for the Study of African American Life & History, the designation began in 1915 when University of Chicago alumnae Carter G. Woodson traveled from Washington, D.C. to Chicago to participate in a national celebration of the 50th anniversary of emancipation. And according to FFT Fellow Pratia Jordan, students need to remember that Black history didn’t start or end then, or with slavery.I’m Carrie Caton and the goal of each episode is to elevate teachers as the inspiring architects of their careers, classrooms, and school communities. Today we’re learning from Pratia Jordan, teacher at O’Donnell Middle School in Houston, Texas. Last summer with a Fund for Teachers grant, Pratia retraced the Transatlantic Slave Trade through historical sites in Europe, Africa and North America to create multi-modal, 3D virtual learning experiences that allow students to deepen content knowledge and make personal connections to the past and its continued relevance to our present. Pratia is active on social media, producing her own podcast, and also active as the mother of two young children with another on the way. Since her fellowship, Pratia has been named Teacher of the Year at her school, for her district, and a finalist for her region. We were able to catch up with her to learn more about her fellowship and its epiphanies, sharing both with eighth grade students who have a lot of questions about how we got to this point in history, literally and figuratively.

Hey, you over there…yeah you…the teacher sitting in front of the computer staring at your 2023 Fund for Teachers grant application – the one you’ve labored over for months – the one containing the aspirations you have for yourself, your students, your school and your community.  I’ve got some valuable insider information that can help you more confidently push “SUBMIT” by January 19th. You’re going to want to hear this.Fund for Teachers’ Chief of Staff Stephanie Ascherl wants to share some insight gleaned from her 18 years with the organization – observations, suggestions, and advice that can strengthen your proposal and ease your stress. This is an episode of Fund for Teachers – The Podcast you don’t want to miss…

Here at Fund for Teachers, we’ve spent the summer following our 2022 Fellows, as well as those from 2020 and 2021 whose fellowships were deferred, as they pursued learning around the country and five continents. It’s now September and most of our grant recipients are back in the classroom, so we’re bringing back Fund for Teachers – The Podcast for our fourth season. We are already in contact with Fellows who experienced lifechanging fellowships this summer – they are eager to share their learning on future episodes. However, since they are in the midst of processing their learning and welcoming new students into their classrooms – we sought out the FFT Fellow making national news as part of Weave: The Social Fabric Project at the Aspen Institute, founded by New York Times columnist and author David Brooks.In 2013, Megan Helberg and her husband (then an English teacher/now principal in rural Nebraska) used a Fund for Teachers’ team grant to retrace the footsteps of Poland’s Jewish and non-Jewish people during the Holocaust to develop a greater understanding of its lingering impact and help students grapple with the atrocities committed. Since that time, Megan created a Holocaust curriculum that united their community, formed a travel club that takes students and adults on collaborative educational journeys, was selected as a Museum Teacher Fellowat the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and asked to join the Nebraska Community Foundation’s board of directors. In 2020, she was named Nebraska Teacher of the Year – an honor her mother received 25 years prior, and in 2021, the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes named Megan a Lowell Milken Fellow. In our visit, we dialogued about how her trajectory went from “I’ll never be a teacher” to a private audience with First Lady Jill Biden, as well as her encouragement to other teachers thinking about applying for a Fund for Teachers grant. But we began with the same question that kicks off all our podcasts: Why did you become a teacher?

According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, more than 900,000 people quit jobs in state and local education last year, while private schools lost an additional 600,000 people. So what would make an overworked, underpaid teacher want to increase their workload and add to their schedules a monthly, two-hour meeting after school?The answer? An Innovation Circles Grant from Fund for Teachers.Last year, Fund for Teachers offered a new opportunity specifically for teachers who already received a Fellowship grant. With up to $1,000 (as opposed to $5 -$10,000 for their original grant), Fellows were encouraged to think more theoretically about challenges witnessed in their classrooms and to pursue related experiential learning during the summer. The biggest differentiator, however, was the opportunity to process that learning with other Fellows throughout the fall. Each teacher brought to monthly virtual meetings their independent summer research loosely organized around the topics of social justice, art & design, accessibility, and social emotional learning. And, together, they workshopped how to leverage that research in the classroom.  The program was so well received that we committed to a second year of Innovation Circle Grants, and the online application opened February 10th. Today, we’re learning from Marci Addy, a high school literature teacher in Beaverton, OR, and member of our first Innovation Circles Grant cohort. She participated in our Social Emotional Learning Innovation Circle, using a $1,000 grant to attend online workshops and develop skills in project-based learning. Then she walked students through the PBL process, helping them demonstrate authentic learning while maturing as learners and citizens. I reached out to learn more about this experience and why she believes Fellows owe it to themselves to also apply.

Forbes, CNN, Fast Company, The New York Post and even Town & Country claim that MasterClass is one of this year’s top holiday gifts. The streaming platform offers lessons from the best in their fields, delivering – according to its website -- a world class online learning experience. We decided to follow suit and offer a Fund for Teachers MasterClass on crafting a successful grant proposal. Our expert: Four-time Fellow Chris Dolgos. Today, we’re learning from Chris Dolgos, a sixth grade at Genesee Community Charter School in Rochester, NY. In addition to receiving Fund for Teachers grants in 2003, 2006, 2015 and 2020 (which he deferred until this summer), Chris also regularly reviews grant proposals as part of our Selection Committees and also is an inaugural member of our Educator Advisory Council. History and geography are two passions he brings to life in his classroom, through field work, guest experts and product-driven curriculum. Chris has contributed to EL Education’s publications and Common Core curricular efforts and is a NY Educator Voice Fellow. He is also the recipient of EL Education’s Klingenstein Award, nominated by peers and presented to one educator with the national network who stands out for their remarkable service to their school community, as well as their persistence in passionately developing students with character who excel academically and contribute to making the world a better place. If you’re looking for tips on submitting the most compelling Fund for Teachers proposal possible, keep listening…

Today’s podcast airs on Black Friday, when millions of shoppers flock to malls to begin and finish holiday shopping. This scene stands in stark contrast to those witnessed by fifth-grade teacher Janelle Rei this summer. Between meeting with Sudanese refugee students and teachers and observing families living and working in cities built of garbage, Janelle witnessed joy and gratitude for the little things, including school supplies she delivered from her own students at Great Neck Elementary School in Waterford, CT.Janelle is a Fund for Teachers Fellow who used her grant to experience in Egypt the locations in which two books in the fifth-grade curriculum are set to support student learning and to make global connections through The Global Read Along program. Janelle holds an undergraduate degree in education, as well as a master’s degree in special education from Bridgewater State University, and she recently completed a second master’s degree in educational technology from Eastern Connecticut State University. Her first motivation to teach, however, came from her mother, who continues to teach elementary students in nearby Rhode Island. Our conversation covered her motivation for guiding students to be empathic global citizens, how her fellowship is facilitating that, and her advice for our future FFT Fellows working on their proposals.

“The teachers are not alright.” News accounts and social media pages attest to the fatigue – both mental and physical – America’s teachers are experiencing this fall as they continue to adjust to the new normal after the past year of pandemic classrooms. It seems our teachers could use some of the social emotional learning strategies they are sharing with students trying to cope. Hyam Elsaharty knows a lot about that. She used her FFT grant to research in Malaysia how collectivist communities apply SEL skills in homes and schools, then applied her findings at Chicago’s Mather High School, where one-third of students were refugees, immigrants and/or English Language Learners. Now, she’s sharing her expertise with Seattle Public Schools as its Consulting SEL Teacher for the entire district.Today, we’re learning from Hayam Elsaharty, a Fund for Teachers Fellow who also serves on our Educator Advisory Council. Hyam holds an undergraduate degree in criminal justice from the University of Indiana, a master’s degree in Resource Development from Northeastern Illinois University, a second master’s degree in Education from Quincy University and a certificate in English as a Second Language. With her 2017 Fund for Teachers grant, she and a colleague investigated programs in Malaysia supporting Rohingyan refugees who fled genocide in Myanmar. With new knowledge and insights, Hyam and her teammate expanded the advisory curriculum by creating a series of meaningful units that meet the specific social and emotional needs of refugee and immigrant students. The following year, buoyed by her fellowship experience, she applied for and was awarded a Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms grant to research Social Emotional Learning in Peru. After being named Chicago Public Schools’ first Social Emotional Learning Teacher of the Year, she moved to Seattle to help direct a district wide SEL focus on adult education, and supporting educators to develop knowledge, confidence, and agency in teaching students SEL skills. Our conversation began talking about her fellowship and how it changed her life personally and professionally, then migrated to the topic of how teachers can use social emotional learning for themselves.

Marlee Matlin, the only Deaf performer to have won an Academy Award, said “Every one of us is different in some way, but for those of us who are more different, we have to put more effort into convincing the less different that we can do the same thing they can, just differently.” Theatre teacher Amy Patel is committed to figuring out how to teach differently so her deaf and hard of hearing students make their marks at James Clemens High School in Madison, AL. Amy initially received a Fund for Teachers grant in 2017 to explore the inner workings of professional theatre in New York City and better prepare students for possible careers and professional applications of theatre. When two new students who were Deaf subsequently enrolled in joined her theatre department, Amy realized she had a lot more to learn about empowering ALL students for the stage with equity and accessibility. When her own son lost his hearing, that realization turned into action.

September the 15th begins Hispanic Heritage Month, celebrating the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America. The Fund for Teachers fellowship of Chicago art teachers Carolina Ibarra and Claire Reynes celebrated the same thing last summer. In an effort to integrate their elementary students’ culture as a source of inspiration in the art room, these teachers used a Fund for Teachers’ team grant to research the history of traditional Mexican crafts that utilize sustainable art making practices with eco-friendly art materials. Carolina and Claire completed a homestay with contemporary artists in Michoacan and then experienced the centuries-old practice of weaving in Oaxaca. In addition to making art and new friends, they also made – in their words – magical moments that will now translate to their students – the majority of whom are Hispanic.

In the Fund for Teachers universe, September is very significant. Our grant recipients are back from their fellowships, back in their classrooms and reporting back to us about what they learned and how their students will now learn differently as a result.September is also the month before we open our grant application for the upcoming year. We begin marketing the opportunity to teachers and districts, collaborating with our local partners to cast a wider net for applicants, and, hopefully, let more teachers know about the opportunity to design their best version of experiential learning with $5,000 as an individual or $10,000 as a team.So with these bookends in mind, we wanted to produce a series of September podcasts, one per week, that highlights the learning of our Fellows over the past summer in a way that, hopefully, encourages potential applicants about what is possible should THEY chose to take a risk, take the time and make the effort to apply for a 2022 Fellowship Grant or – for previous FFT Fellows – an Innovation Circle Grant.Because Rashaun James was awarded one of each of these grants, she’s the perfect person to kick off the series.Rashaun is a 15-year teaching veteran who holds a bachelors degree in Middle School Childhood Education, master’s degree in Educational Literacy and teaches at Mifflin Middle School in Columbus, OH. Last summer, Rashaun used an Innovation Circle Grant to attend classes at the Anahata Education Retreat Center in Floyd, VA, where she learned research-based tools to support the mental health and social emotional learning of students. Three years prior, she used a Fellowship Grant to film a teaching documentary exploring events surrounding the French Revolution in Paris that also incorporates the lives and works of Jane Austen, Charles Dickens & the Brontë sisters from the same time period in London. In both of her proposals, she tossed in some surprising thoughts on race, equity and her opinion that London and Paris go together like Jay-Z and Beyoncé. 

A smart, but angry young student who dreamed of becoming a pediatrician; a chemistry major; a Target hourly employee; and a substitute teacher. This was Veronica Wylie’s circuitous path to her high school classroom in Hazelhurst, MS. Along the way, she’s earned three master’s degrees, founded a nonprofit, interned with NASA and is currently collaborating with Harvard to create antiracist science curricula. The motivation behind all of this activity is providing her students opportunities – even if they are 60 feet underwater.Today we visit with Veronica Wylie, high school science teacher at Wylie is a high school chemistry and physical science teacher in Hazlehurst High School. She designed a Fund for Teachers fellowship to earn a diving certification to complete archaeology and marine life trainings with the organization Diving With a Purpose, a nonprofit that partners with the National Association of Black Scuba Divers on submerged heritage preservation and conservation projects worldwide with a focus on the African Diaspora. She is also a Ph.D. candidate in education leadership and administration at Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi. Her latest of three graduate degrees is a Master of Arts in Teaching chemistry student at Illinois State University. She interned this summer with NASA’s Office of STEM Engagementin Houston and also started collaborating with teams as a Fellow at Harvard’s Antiracist Science Education Project through the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology. One of my first questions to her was, “When do you have time to teach?” to which she replied, “I teach whenever I can, wherever I can, about whatever is relevant.” Then I asked her about her work, her students and her fellowship.

The Supreme Court recently ruled that college athletes may benefit from perks beyond tuition, room and board and five state legislatures determined that college athletes may begin profiting from their personal brands.This ruling can be life-changing for student athletes, like those with whom Wendy Hutchinson works. As the academic advisor for the men’s basketball team at Edmondson-Westside High School in Baltimore, Wendy is part of the basketball team coaching staff – she even travels with the team and sits on the bench. While two of the school's graduates went on to play in the NBA, Wendy knows that only 1.6% of college athletes make it to the pros. Another statistic represents a more pressing issue for her students: only 55% of Black male student-athletes graduate from college within six years. According to a report produced the USC Race and Equity Center, “Perhaps nowhere in higher education is the disenfranchisement of Black male students more insidious than in college athletics.” This summer, Wendy is using a Fund for Teachers grant to make sure her basketball players have a better shot at success in all its forms.

Prior to the pandemic, experts widely acknowledged that America’s students were experiencing a mental health crisis. A 2017 CDC report showed that suicide was the second-leading cause of death for 15-24 year olds. Add incidents of self-harm into the equation and the outlook is even more bleak. The average age a student begins self-harming habits is 13 and 45% of people use cutting as their method of self-injury. And who has the most exposure to students during these years? Ostensibly, its teachers.Earlier this year, the Brookings Institution published an article titled “Educators are key in protecting student mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic.” Cassi Clausen, teacher and founder of The Open School in Mission Viejo, CA, realized she was not equipped for this challenge. In 2018 Cassi received a Fund for Teachers grant to Attend the annual Sudbury Schools Conference in Kingston, NY, to learn best practices for supporting at-risk students. Using one of Fund for Teachers’ new Innovation Grants, she will spend the summer in dialogue with psychology Dr. Thomas D’Angelo, an expert in pre-teen and teen mental health and self-harm practices, to shift her personal understanding of self-harm and learn how to create safe spaces for struggling students.____________________________________________________________________________Resources referenced in the podcast:This American Life's "Kid Politics" on democratic educationAmerican Psychological Association article “A New Look at Self Injury”

Two hours south of Helen Keller’s home is the town of Trussville. Every elementary, middle and high school has the same mascot and the district prides itself on “One Trussville.” So it stands to reason that when 15 visually impaired students lacked resources to help them stay on pace, their peers stepped up. Led by two Fund for Teachers Fellows, elementary students learned how to braille through a year-long elective called “Build A Better Book,” an effort that drew the heartfelt thanks of parents and the interest of twelfth grade engineering students.Today we visit with April Chamberlain, technology director for Trussville City Schools. At the time of her fellowship, April was a librarian who, with the district’s four other librarians, researched best practices modeled by Chicago-area school libraries to redesign how students work with space, time, resources and community mentors in order to explore, create and publish using new media. She holds a bachelors and master’s degree in Early Childhood Education and is actively involved in the Alabama Leaders of Educational Technology, Alabama Digital Literacy Computer Science Course of Study Committee and Task Force, @TechBirmingham, and International Society for Technology in Education. April is now the technology coordinator for Trussville City Schools and when we learned how she is facilitating students’ efforts to create adaptive resources for visually-impaired peers, we had to find out more.