Grants in Place Fellows Program
The Grants in Place Fellows Program funds projects that engage rural students in place-based learning, like this Pollinator Garden, which supported students and the community of Coloma Elementary School. 2021-22 Celia B. Godsil Fellow, Abigail Parker, created this pollinator garden with her Kindergarten students as her place-based education project.
Application Details
The Grants in Place Fellows Program accepts applications annually, each fall. Check back in August 2024 for more details on the next grant cycle!
The Grants in Place Fellows program is offered in conjunction with our Regional Hub partners. Grants will be awarded to projects that will take place in the current school year.
Eligibility for this grant is extended to rural classroom teachers who teach in school districts that are located in one of the Rural Schools Collaborative's sixteen regional Hub areas.
Rural classroom teachers from the following states and areas are eligible for the program: Alabama, the Appalachian regions of Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri Ozarks, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Northern California, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
Teachers currently working in a rural school district, within our Regional Hubs, will be considered for this grant opportunity. Rural schools are defined as non-urban, non-metro, or fall under one of six categories (You can confirm that your school is eligible by checking your Local Number to match 31, 32, 33, 41, 42, or 43) in the National Center for Educational Statistics classification.
Previous 2022-23 Grants in Place Fellows are not eligible for this year's program.
The Grants in Place Fellows program:
Each Fellow will receive a total award of up to $2,500 to carry out a place-based education project over the 2023-24 school year. In addition to the project award, each Fellow will also be gifted an honorarium after their participation in the Celebration of Learning. The honorarium is given for their dedication to their students and community.
The Fellows Celebration of Learning is a required aspect of the program, and will be held virtually for the next Fellows' class on June 7, 2024. All are welcome to attend!
The Rural Schools Collaborative values the benefits of a diverse teaching force, and we encourage teachers who come from under-represented backgrounds in teaching to apply.
If you have a question regarding your school's eligibility for the program, please email info@ruralschoolscollaborative.org. (Please note that our National Signature Project Award, offered in the spring in partnership with the National Rural Education Association, is open to ALL rural classroom teachers throughout the United States)
Rural Schools Collaborative would like to thank our 2023-24 Grants in Place Selection Committee for their support of this project.
Our 2023-24 Grants in Place Fellows Selection Committee is comprised of outstanding rural advocates and representatives from RSC's Regional Hubs across the US. Our thanks is extended to Ann Schulte (Northern California); Lori Goodson (Kansas); Tammy La Prad (Committee Chair, Monmouth College); Leslie Cook (Wyoming) and Jeremy Eltz (Indiana) for their commitment to place-based education and rural schools & communities.
Since 2015 the Rural Schools Collaborative and its partners have awarded more than $500,000 to rural classroom teachers in support of innovative place-based projects. We invite you to check out our roster of Grants in Place projects:
Learn about more ways to get involved with the Rural Schools Collaborative community or contact us today at info@ruralschoolscollaborative.org with questions about this year's Grants in Place effort.
Young Educators’ Advisory Council Members Create Lasting Impact in their Communities
May 15, 2024
Three of our Young Educators’ Advisory Council Members lead their students in meaningful Place-Based Education projects this spring.
Place-Based Education, Young Educators' Advisory Council
Integrating Rural Teacher Corps and Grow-Your-Own Models: The 2024 Rural Teacher Corps Forum
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This year’s Rural Teacher Corps Forum Webinar explored the intersection of dedicated rural teacher preparation programs, or Rural Teacher Corps, with regional efforts to build diverse Grow-Your-Own teacher pathway programs.
Power of Partnerships, Place-Based Education, Rural Teacher Corps
ROOTed In Place Project Spotlight: Planting Popcorn and Purpose in North Utica, Illinois
April 22, 2024
Exploring the k-8 interdisciplinary education popcorn project in rural North Utica, Illinois.