Slater Excellence in Teaching Award Grant

The Slater Excellence in Teaching Award, offered by the Polk County Community Foundation, supports certified classroom teachers and media specialists in Polk County and Landrum. This program encourages professional growth by funding attendance at educational conferences and unique travel experiences related to their curriculum. The aim is to enhance classroom teaching through innovative learning opportunities. Eligible applicants must work directly with students and submit individual applications, ensuring impactful teaching practices in the local community.

The Foundation receives charitable donations of all sizes from community members and then distributes grants to area nonprofits, awards scholarships to local students, manages endowment funds for local nonprofits, and administers other funds tailored to the specific charitable wishes of individual donors.
Slater Excellence in Teaching Awards
The Priscilla & Ellis D. Slater Excellence in Teaching Awards program strengthens the public school system within the Polk County and Landrum communities by encouraging the professional growth and development of local classroom teachers. The Slater Awards encourage classroom teachers to participate in opportunities to develop their skills and utilize innovative teaching techniques in the classroom by funding travel experiences which relate to the subjects they teach, attendance at conferences or institutions, and other broadening projects.
What types of grants may be awarded?
Conferences: Teachers may apply to attend national conferences in their content area. Many teachers who used Slater awards to attend professional conferences in their field have reported that the experience was highly beneficial and helped them connect with teachers and resources that improved their classroom teaching. We encourage you to research national conferences in your field and plan ahead for the next available opportunity to attend with the help of a Slater grant. You may even apply for a conference offered in the following year, using budget estimates based on past conference costs.
Educational Travel: Teachers may apply for a Slater grant to create unique educational trips which enable them to bring back to the classroom their personal experiences related to the curriculum. Consider the opportunities and possibilities of what you could do with a grant to improve your teaching skills and classroom impact. All projects shall directly affect and enhance teachers’ own classroom performance.
Each teacher must submit his or her own complete application. (No group applications.)

Eligibility

Special Eligibility Requirements:
Only certified classroom teachers and media specialists in Polk County and Landrum public schools who work directly with students and who are the primary teachers responsible for the classroom are eligible. Media specialists must teach regularly scheduled groups of students in order to be eligible.

Ineligibility

Classroom assistants, aides, counselors, administrators, as well as those seeking skills, knowledge, or conferences unrelated to their own current classroom teaching are not eligible for funding.Costs Not Funded: Degrees and certifications, such as Master’s degrees or National Board Certifications. Grants are not awarded for expenses already incurred, or events that will occur before the notification date. All events must occur within one year of the notification date.