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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Restorative Justice from Diverse Perspectives
Cultural and academic data shows that Black students and students with disabilities have fewer positive academic outcomes and school experiences at our school compared with white students. Most school systems are directed at student behavior as the problem and are ineffective. We believe this is because behavior is a symptom of unidentified systemic issues. Our project will identify the systemic problems causing student behavior issues, and use trauma-informed practices to improve student outcomes. Our team of six educators across content areas will attend the Innovative Schools Summit Student Discipline Conference, using this learning experience as the starting point for a two year cycle of student data collection and analysis. Our goal is to change at least one school system to create better experiences and outcomes for our struggling students.
READ MOREPLC Global Ambassadors – College Park Elementary
Our school aims to grow a generation of students from all backgrounds with a foundation in Mandarin Chinese language, literacy and knowledge of Chinese culture, which affords them to be multilingual global stewards . Establishing a global professional learning community (PLC) with those who share our vision and goals toward a student centered, social and environmental justice 21st Century Transdisciplinary Mandarin Dual Language Immersion (DLI) Curriculum will support our aim. The Light Award will be instrumental in cultivating a continuous, collaborative, cross cultural, cross linguistic learning community while also developing our leadership skills.
READ MOREMindful Mentoring for Teacher Leaders at Garfield
Our team of six elementary educators will work with The Teaching Well to obtain a two year cycle of wellness coaching. The program will include both self and collective care practices, and will also teach us how to model healthy SEL habits for our students. By integrating mindfulness into our teaching practice, we will develop tools to better manage our stress and build emotional resilience. Our students are still developing their prefrontal cortexes and rely on us to offer a regulated presence they mirror through co-regulation. Engaging in Mindful Mentoring and Group Coaching, the teachers on our team will not only grow individually but also as a cohesive group, equipped to mentor others and sustain this professional learning approach within the Garfield community.
READ MOREMarshall Elementary Multilingual Learner Support Project
The purpose of this project is to establish a system of support for students who are multilingual learners, also known as English Learners. At Marshall Elementary, there has been an upsurgence in the number of multilingual learners. In this project, selected teachers from general education, special education, and Response to Intervention will work together to create units of study and implement common instructional practices in English Language Development (ELD) in our classrooms. In this community of practice, we will engage in job-embedded professional development to ensure long term, sustainable implementation of ELD practices.
READ MOREGLAD Training for ELD Teachers
Four elementary ELD educators at three schools in our district will pursue training in Guided Language Acquisition and Development (GLAD) strategies to enhance and revitalize our own teaching. During the second year of our project, we will co-plan content-integrated units with classroom teachers at our schools. This project will make our teaching richer and more interactive, and will enable students to learn science and social studies content as they learn English. It will also create more support for English learners in the general education classroom, meet a need for teacher collaboration, and amp up instruction for all students.
READ MOREFoundational Literacy and Syntax for Newcomer Multilingual Learners
The Reading Department of Oakland International High School (OIHS) will use its LIGHT Award grant to deepen our instructional approach to reading for newcomer students. While we have established strong practices for teaching phonics and decoding (connecting the sounds and meanings of letter combinations), vocabulary, and word parts, we struggle to effectively teach syntax: the order of words to create meaning. We know that understanding how words work together is vital to the teaching and learning of reading, particularly for older learners and those with education gaps. Our project will allow us to receive training from experts (Strategic Inquiry). In collaboration with this consultant, we will learn new strategies, participate in inquiry cycles, and share widely with other educators at our school.
READ MOREEngaging Minds: Multisensory Learning Interventions for Elementary Classrooms
Our project was born out of a desire to acquire the necessary skills and tools to help our struggling readers. Orton-Gillingham’s multisensory training will provide our team of cross grade level elementary educators with the tools and protocols to deliver an effective Tier One and Tier Two intervention that will support students with dyslexia, multilingual students, and students struggling with foundational reading skills. We will work with an on-site consultant, share our learnings with site staff and district educators, and form a PLC to assist teachers who are learning how to implement these new strategies.
READ MOREDeveloping 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.
READ MORECreating Culture through Collaboration
This project will provide CVUSD Middle and High School Activities Directors (ADs) with dedicated collaboration and professional development time in order to build our own capacity as well as our students’ capacity for leadership and school connectedness. Because there are only 1 or 2 Activities Directors at each site, opportunities to collaborate and take part in meaningful professional development are limited. This dedicated collaboration and professional development will support our growth as a team and our ability to inspire and connect students to their schools. California Association of Directors of Activities (CADA) resources will add a new layer to our professional knowledge.
READ MORECollaborative 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.
READ MOREBuilding Equitable Access to Learning for Multilingual Learners in the Secondary Classroom
Across subject areas, our project will build teacher knowledge and use of Tier 1 supports for English Learners (ELs), particularly newcomers and long-term ELs. In year 1, the team will engage in a book study and professional development, exploring research-based strategies and best practices for supporting ELs. In tandem, teachers will engage in a lesson study cycle that incorporates the new strategies, focusing on embedded formative assessments that gauge whether these strategies effectively enhance learning outcomes for ELs. in Year 2, our team will lead their respective departments in a similar cycle that is revised based on Year 1 learnings.
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