Colleges and Schools
Eligibility Criteria
Who is eligible to participate?
Educators (teachers and administrators) at any public or private school, grades P–12, located in the United States or Puerto Rico, are eligible to participate. Applicants must be current full-time or part-time educators. Applicants must be legal residents of the United States or Puerto Rico.
How can an educator participate?
To be considered to receive a Walden Educator for a Day Grant, educators are required to complete, in full, a nomination form. Information to be provided on the form includes:
- Educator’s name
- Educator’s school and school address
- Educator’s email address and phone number
Educators also must provide responses, each of which must not exceed 1,000 characters (approximately 200 words), to the following questions:
- Why is it important for non-educators in your community to know what teachers do in their careers?
- What is unique or compelling about your school?
- How will you involve the community in your school's Educator for a Day participation on November 20?
- How would your school use a Walden Educator for a Day Grant?
In addition, educators are responsible for recruiting their own guest “educators for a day,” who will shadow them throughout the school day. Guest educators can be any adult in the community. Potential candidates could include school committee members, legislators, local officials, community employees (e.g., police, firefighters), business people, career changers seeking a teaching career, and retired citizens.
What is the deadline for submissions?
Nomination forms must be submitted and received by Walden University on or before the extended deadline of October 27, 2008. All information requested must be provided, and all questions asked must be answered, for a nomination to be considered eligible for the Walden Educator for a Day Grant.
Are there any other restrictions or considerations for participants?
Educators who participate in the Walden Educator for a Day Grant program must consent to a release agreement that allows Walden University to use the nominee and host school, as well as the answers to the questions contained on the nomination form, for publication purposes without limitation, and that all such materials remain the sole and exclusive property of Walden University.
Educators who participate in the Walden Educator for a Day Grant program also must affirm that their schools would be willing and able to participate in all publicity efforts promoting the Educator for a Day Grant. Such publicity potentially could include inclusion in news releases and media advisories, local and/or national media coverage of the Educator for a Day initiative, media interviews and photos, and other similar public relations vehicles.
How many Walden Educator for a Day Grants will be awarded?
Walden University will award three grants of $5,000 each to the school employer of the winning educators at three schools in the United States and/or Puerto Rico.
How will the recipients be chosen?
The three recipients will be selected by a panel of judges based on the following criteria:
Nominations should demonstrate the educator’s passion for teaching, knowledge of today’s P–12 learning environment, and desire to improve children’s access to quality education with proven learning outcomes. The nomination should further show how the Walden grant will impact a critical mass of the student body and how teachers and administrators are making their school a better place for kids to learn and for teachers to work.
Who will choose the recipients?
Walden University will assemble a panel, not to exceed five individuals, to select the three entries that will receive the Walden Educator for a Day Grants. These individuals may include Walden University administrators and faculty, other educators familiar with the issues faced by teachers and administrators in grades P–12, and individuals from the corporate world.
When will the recipients be announced?
Recipients will be announced and notified by Walden University on November 3, 2008. Recipients will be presented with the Walden Educator for a Day Grants at their respective schools on November 20, 2008.
How is the grant to be used?
How the grant is to be used is up to the educator and his or her individual school. The only stipulations that Walden University has in this respect are that the grant be used for educational purposes (including school supplies or organized activities/field trips) and that the grant be applied in the way that the educator has described in his or her nomination form.
