Donaldson Sabbatical Program
The Frank Donaldson Faculty Development Sabbatical Program provides support for members of The Blake School faculty to undertake and present significant sabbatical projects. In addition to salary support, the program provides a $3,300 project stipend for recipients annually.
Faculty who are eligible for benefits may apply for a sabbatical. The head of school grants these leaves after reviewing the recommendations of the Sabbatical Review Committee. Teachers who complete six continuous years of service are eligible for a sabbatical leave. Continuous service is defined as six years of uninterrupted service or seven years of service interrupted by a year of parental leave or leave without pay.
The procedure for the leave is that a common application must be submitted by November 2, 2009. The common application will require a description of the applicant's sabbatical plan, a budget for the $3300 stipend, and information about the following: his/her past contributions to the school, recognition by and awards from the school, potential benefits derived from the sabbatical for the individual, the school and/or community. Historically, the committee has not funded graduate coursework as an end in itself.
The Sabbatical Review Committee, which is comprised of three teachers, one from each level, elected by the faculty; and two administrators appointed by the head of school, reviews all applications and makes its recommendation to the head of school. This committee will be guided by the following criteria: seniority, past contributions to the school, potential benefit to the school, potential benefit to the larger educational or general community, and potential to the applicant. Activities that significantly extend one's skills or vision, renew or invigorate, or help to redirect or refocus one's purpose also may be considered as legitimate reasons for the leave.
The presentation of the completed sabbatical project will be an integral part of the Frank Donaldson Faculty Development Program. This may take many different forms, such as the public lecture, paper, published article or book, video, or a showing. The project budget should include provisions for expenses associated with the presentation, such as printing and publicity.
Decisions concerning the candidates will be given to them in writing, no later than December 15th. A person on sabbatical leave is required to commit himself/herself to two years employment following his/her return or to reimburse the school for the total salary received during the leave period. Please note that sabbaticals can be taken in multiple ways: applicants can elect a single semester away from school at no loss in salary or they can choose to teach half-time for a full year at no loss in salary; in addition, they can take a full year's sabbatical leave at either 50% salary for a single year or 75% salary over two years. Given this last choice, the sabbatical year would normally be the second year, but the Sabbatical Committee would consider, under special circumstances, a written request to reverse the order of the two-year option. There will be no loss of seniority, rights or privileges for those on sabbatical leave, though tuition remission and TIAA-CREF contributions may be reduced. Please contact the Assistant Head of School with questions. Faculty on sabbatical will be granted a year of experience on the salary scale.