OKLAHOMA CITY — Applications are open for Fund for Teachers fellowships, which give Oklahoma educators who teach pre-K through 12th grade the opportunity to pursue self-designed professional learning.

Individual teachers may apply for up to $5,000, while teacher teams may apply for up to $10,000 in grant funds. Applications are online at fundforteachers. org and open until 5 p.m. Jan. 18.

Oklahoma’s 2023 recipients used their grants for a wide variety of experiences, including leading an excursion in Costa Rica to experience the country’s rainforest and ocean ecosystems, exploring fairy tales and folklore in Europe, and attending The Ron Clark Academy, a demonstration school in Atlanta with hands-on workshops.

Oklahoma’s grants are made possible through a partnership between Fund for Teachers, the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence and the Tulsa Community Foundation.

The Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence is a nonprofit that recognizes and encourages academic excellence in Oklahoma’s public schools.

“These fellowships provide such amazing opportunities for Oklahoma teachers,” said Elizabeth Inbody, executive director of the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence. “They are able to absorb the things they experience and then put that knowledge back into a classroom setting, greatly enriching their students’ learning opportunities.”

To be eligible, teachers must spend at least 50% of their time directly providing instruction to students, must be returning to the classroom in the consecutive school year, and must have at least three years’ experience teaching pre-K through 12th grade at the end of the current school year.

For more information about Fund for Teachers grants for Oklahoma teachers, visit fundforteachers. org or contact Fund for Teachers Oklahoma Program Coordinator Lauren Dow at ldow@ofe.org or 405236-0006.