Educator Resources
Fall grant applications are due by Tuesday, August 27, 2024.
Winter grant applications are now closed. The Fall grant application will open in July.
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Any teacher, administrator, student (with an adult co-sponsor), parent or friend of Washington Township Schools conducting a project that will benefit students in Washington Township Public Schools.
Funding for any grant is, historically, limited to $5,000, but larger amounts are reviewed if the scope and impact is wide-reaching through the township. For grant requests below $1,500, we suggest you consider DonorsChoose.org and take advantage of the matching opportunities there. (See DonorsChoose.Org FAQ)
As a rule of thumb, items that generally don’t receive funding are:
- Food and other consumable items such as prizes and t-shirts
- Elementary Class Trips
- Furniture
- Transportation costs
- Travel, lodging, and food associated with professional development requests (stipends of substitute salaries are eligible for funding in professional development requests)
Twice a year, once at the start of the first semester, and once at the start of the second semester. For funding of projects taking place over the summer please submit an application during the second-semester cycle.
Grant requests are reviewed, and funding determined, by a grants committee comprised of WTSF board members. Once submitted, every grant application is assigned a grant advocate who connects one on one with the grant author and then advocates on the grant’s behalf when the committee meets. Grant approval and funding is determined by the amount of funds available, the pool of applications being considered, and how funds can be distrusted to most positively impact students.
When funds are available, you will receive a specific fund code from the WTSF. You will then work with your School Treasurer/Administrative Assistant to requisition funds through the Business Office using that fund code. Your Treasurer/ Administrative Assistant will have access to requisition for services, supplies, and/or equipment purchases. You will need to provide them with a quote. Once the item has been requisitioned, the Business Office will create a Purchase Order (PO) for your request to be processed. Once it has arrived or the service has been completed, inform your Treasurer/Administrative Assistant and turn in any packing slips, shipping receipts, and/or invoices. Those items will be forwarded to the Business Office so payment can be processed. No payment will be made without proper documentation and/or services rendered/materials received.
If a project cost comes in lower than originally anticipated, and there are additional items specific to the approved project that you wish to purchase, you may contact the WTSF for approval. Once the project has been completed, a grant report should be filed and any remaining funds will be returned to the general grants budget. Awarded grant funds are available to the recipient for up to two years once allocated, but must be spent on the project as approved. After two years, any unused funds are automatically returned to the general grant budget.
Equipment or material purchased with grant funds become the property of the school. Materials developed by individuals will belong to those individuals with the understanding that the materials may be copied for use by other teachers. If a teacher is switching buildings within the district and wishes to take materials secured through grants with them to their new building, they must get approval from the principal in the building they are relocating from. If a grant recipient were to leave MSDWT, any materials purchased with grant funds should remain in Washington Township.
Once a project is completed, a grant report must be filed here. Recipients have up to a year to file a grant report and future funding requests cannot be considered until previously awarded grants have a report on file.
Grants are funded through the Annual Fund and the Ginny Hacker and Terry Kahn Grant Endowment, which are supported by generous donors of WTSF. Visit our Ways to Give page to learn more about the Annual Fund and how to be a part of it.
Any certified staff member currently teaching in a classroom that is supporting students in The Metropolitan School District of Washington Township.
Yes, in order to give as many teachers access to matching funds as possible, make sure that requests align with our organization’s grant philosophy, and ensure that items received can continue to be supported by the District, the following requests are not eligible for matching dollars:
- Projects over $1,500
- Professional Development Support
- Food, Clothing & Hygiene
- Computers & Tablets
- Flexible Seating
Yes, we would encourage you to participate in the traditional grants process which will allow us to engage with your request at a deeper level and see what funding opportunities are available.
The system is automated by DonorsChoose.org. Once they have determined the project to be eligible, they will apply a visual statement to your project page that states “Donations to this project are now being matched thanks to support from the Washington Township Schools Foundation”. Once this statement appears, every dollar donated will be immediately and automatically matched by us.
No, the system is automated by DonorsChoose.org. If your project meets the criteria and matching dollars are still available, the match will be applied automatically.
The WTSF fiscal year runs July 1-June 30th. Matching with DonorsChoose.org resets every fiscal year and is allocated on an annual basis. Once the budgeted funds are all used, the match is not available until it resets again the next school year. Typically, matching dollars last until April. If your project is being posted between April and August (when the new year typically starts) and meets the criteria but is not receiving a match, all matching funds allocated for the budget cycle have probably been applied to other projects.
We suggest just being patient. Many times, a project will get funded by donors without matching funds. If however, you put a project up during a time when matching funds are not available, if it has not been fully funded when the next cycle of matching funds becomes available, the match will automatically engage for future donations made after the match activates.
Adopt-a-Classroom is a program that connects generous partners in the community with the opportunity to support an elementary classroom in the Metropolitan School District of Washington Township (MSDWT) for the entire school year. The sponsorship contributes financial resources to the classroom teacher, as well as a grade-level appropriate book for each student in the classroom during the holidays to take home and keep.
The teacher in each selected classroom will receive three (3) different disbursements of $260 over the course of the year to purchase additional supplies, support educational expenses, class parties, or any other resource needed to further student learning. Additionally, prior to breaking for the winter holidays, every student in the class will receive a grade-level-appropriate book to take home and keep.
Once teachers and sponsors are matched, an introduction will be made for the sponsor to learn a little more about the class being supported. Sponsors can expect to receive reports facilitated by WTSF throughout the year with updates on how the funding has impacted the classroom experience for students. Additionally, prior to the winter break, the classroom sponsors should have the opportunity to come into the adopted classroom to read and distribute the books if their schedule allows.
Elementary Teachers in MSDWT who wish to have their classrooms adopted should fill out the application by the stated deadline. Classrooms will be matched with Sponsors by the end of August. It is our hope that the number of teachers wishing to have their classrooms adopted and those wishing to adopt classrooms align, but if not, priority will be given to classrooms that have higher numbers of students navigating vulnerable situations.
Washington Township Schools Foundation is the not-for-profit Education Foundation serving Washington Township Schools. Sponsor organizations have partnered with WTSF to oversee the distribution of funds, purchasing of books, and coordination of classroom reports.
Additional questions about Adopt-A-Classroom should be directed to Emily Kaiser with WTSF at [email protected].