JPEF awarded $10,000 grant to bring social justice training to Teachers of the Year
Teaching Tolerance, a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, will support JPEF's Teacher Leadership Initiative.
6/10/2020
JACKSONVILLE, Fla., June 10, 2020 — The Jacksonville Public Education Fund has been awarded a $10,000 grant from Teaching Tolerance, a project of the Southern Policy Law Center, to bring anti-bias training to Duval County Teachers of the Year.
As part of JPEF’s Teacher Leadership Initiative, 48 public school teacher leaders will make social justice a meaningful aspect of their everyday instruction while completing an action research project to influence teaching practices across their school community.
“A school is only as good as its culture—and building that culture is not only a role for the principal, but also every teacher's responsibility,” said Rachael Tutwiler Fortune, JPEF President. “As today’s headlines prove, having a social justice lens is not just nice to have. It can make or break a school.”
JPEF’s Teacher Leadership Initiative works to celebrate, elevate and empower Duval County’s top teachers through a yearlong professional learning and networking experience. The initiative is one component of JPEF’s work to close the opportunity gap for low-income students and students of color in Duval County, in partnership with Duval County Public Schools and local charter schools.
This year’s Teacher Leadership Initiative programming will focus on four tracks to equip teachers with skills to support equitable outcomes for students in collaboration with local partners. This grant funding will help bring experts from University of North Florida College of Education to train teachers on how to create impact through action research projects and how to foster culturally inclusive classrooms.
This project was made possible through a grant from Teaching Tolerance, a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Contact Stephanie Garry Garfunkel, Director of Marketing & Communications, at (352) 359-2393 or stephanie@jaxpef.org for more information.
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About the Jacksonville Public Education Fund
The Jacksonville Public Education Fund is a research-driven independent nonprofit organization that is working to close the opportunity gap for low-income students and students of color in Duval County. We believe public schools have made tremendous progress over the last ten years, but we cannot stop working until every student is prepared for success in college, career and life. We invest in building the capacity of school leaders, teacher leaders and parent leaders to improve school quality. For more information: www.jaxpef.org.