Resources for School Leaders

Grants for Schools

NEA Foundation Grants - The NEA Foundation awards grants of up to $2,000 exclusively to NEA members to enhance teaching and learning. Deadlines on February 1, June 1, and October 15

Good Sports equipment donations

Project-based learning grants listed by state

Arts integration grants listed by state

Design thinking grants listed by state

Student leadership grants listed by state

Highlander Institute has been offered the opportunity to apply for funding from the Robin Hood foundation to support two public or charter schools in New York City interested in pursuing personalized learning initiatives over the course of two years (support will be provided for grades K-8)*.

Partner schools will receive intensive consultation, coaching, and continuous improvement support as they embark on personalized learning initiatives aligned to their local vision and priorities. Supports are fully customized and enhance classroom culture, differentiation, student agency, culturally relevant teaching, and rigor and mastery. The Highlander Institute theory of change is outlined in the book Pathways to Personalization: A Framework for School Change (Harvard Education Press, 2018).

This work will be driven by a building leader who takes on the role of change agent as well as a design team representing the voices of all system stakeholders, including students, teachers, families, and administrators. The design team will craft a clear vision of the work, shadow students to build understanding, identify “early-adopter” pilot teachers, and launch pilots of personalized learning that support new classroom practices. Pilot teachers will receive in-classroom coaching from the Highlander Institute team who will also document the pilot process, and build pathways to spread best practices and strategies throughout the building. By collecting and analyzing student data and iterating on pilot strategies, the school will ultimately determine the best way to personalize instruction for its students, and will be able to successfully support and sustain scale across the building.