The Fund for Transforming Education in Kentucky (The Fund) has announced the Innovation Fund that will provide grants to teachers, administrators and others to encourage innovation in education.
Photo by Amy Wallot, Dec. 20, 2013
The Fund for Transforming Education in Kentucky has announced a new initiative to help Kentucky educators create a culture of innovation in the Commonwealth.
The Fund’s Innovation Initiative will include training, consulting and other supports; however the main component of the initiative will be the Innovation Fund. The Innovation Fund will provide grants to public school teachers, administrators and others to encourage the investigation, testing and scaling innovative practices to improve results for all of Kentucky’s students.
“Kentucky is lucky to have some of the most creative and forward-thinking minds in the education arena, but often our educators find their creativity stifled by budgetary constraints,” said The Fund’s Executive Director Barbara Bellissimo. “Our goal with the development of this Innovation Fund is to not only provide the financial means necessary for teachers to implement new practices within their classrooms, but to help them find a way to do so on a larger scale – ultimately breathing new life into the way we educate our children.”
The Innovation Fund will include three tiers of support:
Research grants: the smallest in size, these grants will support research and investigation of innovative tools and practices that the grantee may want to move into a pilot stage.
Pilot grants: small to mid-size grants that would allow the grantee to test innovative tools and practices.
Scaling grants: the largest and most infrequent grant awards, these grants will support the scaling of innovative tools and/or practices.
In May 2014, Kentucky public school teachers and administrators will be invited to apply for grants. A Review Committee, made up of staff and board members from The Fund, education experts and leadership from the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) will review the applications and together create the list of final recipients.
Chairman of The Fund’s Board of Directors, Billy Harper of Harper Enterprises, expressed his appreciation for the many members of the business community who stepped up to make the Innovation Fund possible.
“Thanks to some very generous donors, we now have a real opportunity to help educators, administrators and other officials understand how bringing innovative practices to our classrooms can help improve outcomes for all Kentucky students
Founded in April 2013, The Fund for Transforming Education in Kentucky recruits, coordinates and supports expertise and resources to inspire and scale innovation and excellence in Kentucky’s public schools, resulting in a better future for all of our children. For more information on The Fund for Transforming Education in Kentucky or the Innovation Fund, visit The Fund’s website at www.thefundky.org.
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