Fund for Teachers
Ray Plank, a Blake alumnus and former Blake parent and trustee, first created the Plank Challenge Grants at Blake. Since 2002, both the name of the Fund and the criteria for awards are consistent with those used by the national office of the Fund for Teachers. The strongest proposals document well-conceived plans, provide a realistic budget and demonstrate how the proposed experiences will benefit both the teachers and their students. Grant money is available to teachers from The Blake School and Minneapolis Public Schools.
Recipients Announced: December 15, 2009
Eligibility: Open to all faculty, though applicant can win an award only once every 5 years.
Proposals: Proposals should address the grant purpose and outline a likely budget. At Blake, division directors must indicate approval by signing the cover sheet of the application.
Grants Selection Committee: The committee consists of Blake's Assistant Head of School, one Blake teacher, a Minneapolis Public Schools official and one Minneapolis Public Schools teacher.
Grant Size: Budget proposals can range up to $5,000.00 each. Teams can apply for up to $7,500.00.
Grant Number: The number of proposals accepted depends on the size of the grants awarded at Blake.
Terms: Recipients will have full use of the grant funds immediately. Spending of grant funds can continue past summer depending on the proposal but reimbursement requests must be made by November 2. Requests for extensions and reimbursements should be made to the Assistant Head of School, Head of School's Office, who will forward them on to the Business Office. The awards are to be used for activities that provide opportunities in professional and personal development designed to improve or enhance recipients' teaching skills and capacity. (Note: Proposals requesting support for the attainment of an advanced degree are not funded by this resource.)
Reporting: The public and independent grantees meet to compare notes and experiences. Teachers are expected to share their experiences at the division level, along the lines of the Upper School's "Teacher Talk."
Application Due: November 2, 2009