Miami University’s College of Education, Health, and Society receives $30,000 grant to support early-career teachers
Miami University’s College of Education, Health, and Society receives $30,000 grant to support early-career teachers
Miami University’s College of Education, Health, and Society (EHS) has been awarded a $30,000 grant from the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation to expand its Communities of Practice for Early Career Teachers (ECT). The initiative, led by Tammy Schwartz, director of the Urban Cohort, along with co-principal investigators Kenzie Andrews and Brian Schultz, aims to address the growing challenges faced by new teachers, particularly in high-need schools.
With 44% of teachers leaving the profession within five years, the Communities of Practice program provides critical support to enhance teacher morale, self-efficacy, and retention. The year-long experience offers 20 early-career teachers leadership training, curriculum development skills, and the opportunity to create passion projects aligned with Excellent Teaching practices. Participants also benefit from regular mentoring and professional development activities.
Since its inception in 2020, the program has achieved a 100% retention rate among its participants and has proven effective in combating teacher burnout and isolation. The new funding will support project leadership, supplies for passion projects, and an independent evaluation of the program's outcomes.
The grant will also enable the program to expand its reach within Cincinnati Public Schools and the surrounding region. EHS plans to reapply for additional funding in 2026 to sustain and grow the initiative, ensuring long-term support for early-career teachers in high-need schools.
(AI tools Grammarly and ChatGPT 4.0, a language model developed by OpenAI, assisted in writing this article.)
