Projects We’ve Funded

As of Spring 2025, we have supported the professional learning of over 550 Bay Area teachers as part of 115 funded projects.

Year Awarded

Level

Subject

County

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Developing Strong Mathematical Thinking in the Classroom

Participating teachers will engage in course work focused on Cognitively Guided Instruction in Mathematics, trainings led by a math facilitator, and conferences designed to provide teachers with the necessary skill-set to tailor instruction to align with how students think. During release days teachers will design mathematical units of study, the cornerstone of each unit will be student work with a goal to progress conceptual understanding. Once participating teachers have mastered these skills they will lead Professional Development at both the site and district levels to share their learning.

Collaborative Problem Solving: Help Ignite a Future of Hope

Teacher and administrator burnout is growing at our school. Our nucleus of trained teachers will improve the school’s response to challenging student behaviors and address key factors, such as chronic absenteeism and family engagement. We will work with a consultant to implement Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS, via https://livesinthebalance.org), partnering adults and students to find agreed-upon solutions, while also building student agency and problem-solving. We will take a case-study approach with target students, apply it broadly in our classrooms and collaborate weekly to debrief. This project will invest us with purpose and enthusiasm to revitalize the school community in service of students.

Ecosystems of Ethnic Studies for Social Justice (ESSJ)

Our goal with this professional development project is to create a self-sustaining ethnic studies program with increased education and planning time to make interdisciplinary ES Pedagogy a reality across campus.

Transforming Our Kinder-First Grade Literacy Program

Our team is committed to doing all we can to ensure that all our students are successful readers. We are setting out to transform our kinder-1st grade literacy program by doing a series of personalized professional development with The Reading League.

Igniting Educator Passion Through Service-Learning

Six teachers across disciplines will cultivate a service-learning focus that can help them meet their academic goals and ignite their passions as educators towards addressing real community needs. Team members will work in a professional learning community in partnership with the National Youth Leadership Council to develop skill sets in collaboration, unit design, and creating meaningful partnerships.

Social Justice and Empowerment Through Literacy and Dialogue in English Classes

This team to implement and improve curriculum in their English department to make it more relevant to 21st century notions of social justice and empowerment.

Facing History’s Professional Learning Community for Ethnic Studies

This team from across the Bay Area will launch a professional learning community focused on learning and growing in the area of Ethnic Studies.

Promoting Bilingualism and Biliteracy through DI in SCUSD

This team of elementary school teachers plans to expand their knowledge of best practices and structures for Dual Language (DI) Immersion programs as their site transitional bilingual program transitions to DI.

Graham Middle School STEAM Digital Heroes

This team of middle school teachers will collaborate with the Krause Center for Innovation to develop and pilot pathways for Project Based Learning (PBL)-based, technology enhanced electives and create curriculum for all students in media, technology, broadcasting, engineering, leadership, and visual art courses.

GLAD Enhanced Project Based Learning

This team of five elementary school teaches will learn and implement GLAD (Guided Language Acquisition Design) strategies to build academic language and the ability to express learning through writing.

Fluency First

Five high school world language teachers at schools across San Jose seek to train teachers in implementing the proficiency levels of language to better assess students and to use comprehensible input as the main method for teaching fluency.

Content Area Literacy in the Digital Age

This team of six teachers at 5 different school sites across the Bay Area aims to deepen teacher knowledge of digital literacy and adult learning while supporting each other in adapting instruction to support 21st century learning.

Vertical Alignment of School-Wide Advisory Curriculum

The goal of these five high school teachers is to strengthen their school’s Advisory program.

Learning to be Glad

This team of six experienced elementary school teachers will attend Guided Language Acquisition Design (GLAD) training and learn innovative ways to build academic language and literacy.

Leadership with Passion

This team of six high school teachers from Eastside Union High School District will finish the creation of a five year-long comprehensive A-G leadership courses, and strengthen their shared passion for being Leadership Teachers.

Teacher Learning Lab

This team of six elementary school teachers aims to change the way they teach math using the new NCTM effective teaching practices, and ultimately, to teach math in a more student-centered way.

Building Teacher Leadership Capacity

An instructional support coach and five course team leaders from each of the core academic departments (history, English, math, world language) will receive on-site Professional Learning Community leadership training from Solution Tree.

AP Success & Equity Project

The team of six AP teachers seek to improve the AP culture and instruction on campus in service to greater equity of success for all students.

Orchestra Teacher Professional Development

The team of five middle and high school music teachers will organize and take part in a twice-monthly Orchestral Methods class.

Teaching Garden

With professional development and technical assistance provided by Life Lab at University of California, Santa Cruz, the team of six elementary teachers will transform its school’s garden space into an inquiry-based teaching garden.

Reader’s Workshop

Six teachers in grades three and four will deepen the implementation of the Reader’s Workshop (RW) model at their school.

A Summer Prep Course for AP Students

Five teachers representing a wide range of subject areas are teaming to create an intensive summer “AP Bootcamp” to help prepare their students for success in their Advanced Placement (AP) courses.

A Common Core Professional Learning Community

The team of three teachers is investigating and reviewing best practices for student success with the Common Core Standards by creating a Professional Learning Community.

A New Computer Science Principles Course

A team of high school Computer Science teachers from multiple school districts is collaborating to create a Professional Learning Community to prepare to teach a new AP Computer Science course.

A School-Wide Approach to Teaching Writing

The team of six teachers is working on a site-based shift to the way that writing is taught, with a particular emphasis on Common Core, differentiated opportunities for students, and equal access for English Language Learners.