Scholarships & Awards

Celebrating Excellence

KDP proudly recognizes and celebrates new teachers through scholarships, grants, and awards. Explore the opportunities below to learn more about eligibility and requirements. We welcome you to apply to those that fit your needs, and we offer our sincere gratitude to the generous donors who have invested in future and new teachers through these scholarships and awards!

New Teacher Scholarships

KDP honors members’ academic excellence through the scholarship program. Scholarships are a benefit for active paid members. Our online scholarship applications consist of short answers, an essay on the scholarship’s prompt, unofficial transcripts, and a letter of reference. Scholarship award money helps advance the recipients’ studies and/or teaching careers. Tuition/student loans, curriculum books, technology, classroom manipulatives, and items to establish your first learning environment are examples of acceptable uses. Scholarship money will be awarded directly to the recipient. Recipients submit a survey to share the impact of the scholarship funds. The 2022–2023 scholarship application cycle is now open, and all applications are due by 11:59 p.m. ET on April 28, 2023. You may begin your application here.

Scholarships

Available to one undergraduate, graduate, or doctoral student, or practicing K–12 educator in their first 3 years of teaching. The essay prompt (no more than 750 words, 3,800 characters) is, "What is the role of service in becoming a professional educator?" An additional document is required that describes your service to the chapter, community, and profession, and how your service made a difference.

Award

$1,250 for one recipient

2022 Recipient

Derek M. Lough, EdD student, School of Teaching and Learning, Illinois State University

View Form

Available to one practicing educator in their first 5 years in the classroom. The essay prompt (no more than 750 words, 3,800 characters) is, “Describe how this scholarship will advance your evidence-based practices and professional development as a new teacher.”

Award

$1,000 for one recipient

2022 Recipient

Isabel Ellis Quiñones, Manhattan College, PS 310 Marble Hill (New York)

View Form

Available to one undergraduate, graduate, or doctoral student, or practicing educator dedicated to leadership and service in KDP. The essay prompt (no more than 750 words, 3,800 characters) is, "What are your professional and personal reasons for seeking leadership and service opportunities in KDP? How have your academic program(s) and experiences prepared you for such an endeavor?"

Award

$1,000 for one recipient

2022 Recipient

Brenna Katherine Tipton, University of Tennessee at Martin, William Blount High School (Tennessee)

View Form

Teacher Grants

KDP’s mission is to inspire and equip future and new teachers to thrive. Thanks to the generosity of Dr. Judith F. Evans and Mr. Ralph M. Evans, we offer financial assistance to support this mission with Classroom Teacher Grants. We will offer 50 grants of $150 each to practicing PreK–12 teachers and student teachers through the Classroom Teacher Grants. Members will be invited to submit compelling applications for their creative, engaging, and impactful projects. Past recipients have established classroom libraries, purchased much-needed supplies, created makerspaces, incorporated yoga and mindfulness into learning, funded field trips and guest speakers, and utilized new technologies, among other endeavors.

In addition to our Classroom Teacher Grants, we are excited to offer First-Year Teacher Grants. Funded by generous donors, chapters, and the KDP store, this program will support 18 new teachers who are entering the classroom for their first year of teaching in the 2022–2023 school year with grants of $250 each.

We offer teacher grants once per year in the fall. The 2022–2023 application cycle is now closed. Teacher grants are a benefit for active paid members. Grant money will be awarded directly to the recipient. All recipients submit a survey to share the impact of the grant funds.

2022-2023 Grant Recipients

Congratulations to our 2022–2023 recipients! Click here to see the full listing.

 

Scholarship FAQs

Do I need to be an active paid member to apply for scholarships?

Scholarships except the Louise M. Berman Fellows Award are a benefit for active paid KDP members.

When are scholarships offered?

We offer scholarships once per year in the spring. The 2022–2023 scholarship application cycle is now open, and all applications are due by 11:59 p.m. ET on April 28, 2023. Scholarship recipients will be announced on July 1, 2023.

Which scholarships do I qualify for?

You may apply for scholarships under your current level of study and/or practice. For example, a senior undergraduate student graduating in May is eligible for undergraduate opportunities. A PreK–12 teacher who is also earning a master’s degree may apply for both practicing teacher opportunities and masters opportunities. You may find the teacher candidate opportunities here.

Can I apply for multiple scholarships?

Yes, you may apply for as many scholarships for which you qualify. Only one application per individual may be submitted for each scholarship opportunity, and a member may only receive one scholarship per cycle. If an individual is the top candidate in multiple opportunities, they will be awarded the scholarship with the largest financial award.

Can I see the application questions in advance?

You may download a copy of the questions here to prepare and save a copy of your answers.

What are acceptable formats for my documents to upload?

We request that documents be PDF or Word doc file types.

Do I need to be an active paid member to apply for teacher grants?

Yes, teacher grants are a benefit for active paid members.

When are teacher grants offered?

We offer teacher grants once per year in the fall. The 2023–2024 application cycle will open in fall 2023.

Who do I contact if I have further questions about applying?

Please reach out to Heather Lloyd at heather@kdp.org, who will be able to assist you.