The Intrepid Philanthropy Foundation is proud to announce the recipients of the 2026 LIGHT Awards grants. With these grants, we recognize and honor the importance of educators in our Bay Area communities, as well as their role in inspiring the hearts and minds of students.
The eleven new teams consist of 57 educators pursuing self-designed professional learning projects. Starting this summer, the teacher teams will embark on learning journeys to enhance their skills as educators and build community among their team. With the addition of these new teams, the LIGHT Awards program has supported over 600 educators in the Greater Bay Area in pursuing 126 projects of their choice.
Launched in 2014, the LIGHT Awards (Leveraging Innovation by Growing and Honoring Teachers) provide teachers with funding to pursue the professional learning they find most meaningful. Intrepid believes that its investment in LIGHT Awards grants leads to professional and personal growth for participants; deeper peer collaboration; and changes in instructional practices that positively impact students. Research has found that participating in a LIGHT Awards team creates a significant positive impact on teachers’ professional identities, with many reporting increased satisfaction and camaraderie.
Projects selected for the 2026-2028 cohort include:
- A cohort of East Oakland teachers representing five schools – Life Academy, Bridges Academy, Lockwood STEAM Academy, Skyline High School and International Community School – will engage in community-led professional learning on Mam language and Maya culture in partnership with Unión Maya. The team will create trilingual picture books rooted in Maya proverbs and stories, along with video read-alouds for classrooms across Oakland. With their new knowledge and relationships with Maya leaders, partner teachers will become advocates and ambassadors for Maya families at their schools and across the district.
- A team of middle school Math teachers will strengthen inclusive co-teaching at their school through sustained professional learning and structured collaboration, including both general education and special education teachers. The educators will attend a national co-teaching conference and also engage with a local coach to support planning and implementation of new co-teaching models. The group will also share learnings with other interested colleagues at their school and with the district’s elementary schools—transforming teacher satisfaction and collaboration across their school and broader community.
Karen Leshner, founder of the Intrepid Philanthropy Foundation, shared:
“I offer my heartfelt congratulations to the members of Cohort 13. Welcome to the LIGHT Awards community! Speaking for both myself and our LIGHT team, we can’t wait to meet you in the months ahead and support your learning journeys. It’s our hope that your projects will bring inspiration and positive energy to you, your students, and your communities over the next two years.”
The 2026-2028 LIGHT Awards cohort consists of educators from the following schools:
- Bridges Academy, Life Academy, Lockwood STEAM Academy, International Community School and Skyline High School – Oakland
Project title: Union Maya Project - Cesar Chavez Elementary School – San Francisco
Project title: Cultivating Classrooms for Healing and Growth - Cesar Chavez Ravenswood Middle School – East Palo Alto
Project title: Stronger Together: Co-Teaching Growth - John F. Kennedy High School – Richmond
Project title: Assessing Foundational Literacy for Newcomers - Los Altos High School – Los Altos
Project title: Empowering Multilingual Learners with Meaningful Education - Mission High School – San Francisco
Project title: Deepening Multilingual Newcomers’ Math Connections - Oakland School of the Arts – Oakland
Project title: Strengthening Studio Arts Instruction - San Leandro High School – San Leandro
Project title: Designing Advisory for Access, Belonging and Connection - Skyline High School – Oakland
Project title: Elevating Educator Well- being - Thomas Page Academy – Cotati
Project title: Empower Every Reader to Succeed! - Washington Elementary School – Richmond
Project title: Designing Impactful English Language Development for Dual Language Classrooms
Learn more about each project.
For further information about the LIGHT Awards, visit lightawards.org
For information about Intrepid Philanthropy Foundation, visit intrepid-philanthropy.org