Applying For Professional Development Priority Funds For Special Projects
In April of each school year, groups of teachers may apply for up to $3000 to fund special professional development projects. This opportunity is only made available to members of the Saanich Teacher’s Association as we are the only organization that contributes to this fund.
Basic Guidelines
- These funds are available to all groups of members of the Saanich Teachers’ Association on an equal access basis.
- Teachers should expect to share these funds based on the priorities set by the Saanich Teachers’ Association and its Professional Development Working Committee, which is responsible for allocating these funds each year.
- Groups should not expect to monopolize the available funds for any particular group. This means if your school is already funded or has been funded in the recent past, your application is given a lower priority this year.
- A guideline would be that no group should expect to receive more than three thousand dollars in a given year.
Information and Procedures:
Priority Fund Project Information
Where do I get an application form?
STA-Priority-Fund-Application-2024-25
Send electronically completed applications to:
Deadline:
April 30, 2024
Criteria/Conditions
a. It is desirable that these projects, directly or indirectly service as many teachers and students as possible.
b. The size of the grants and the number of projects funded will be determined by the total amount of funds available for use in this area.
c. Any school staff wishing to have funds for a staff function such as a retreat or activity off campus must indicate at least 25% of the funds needed to support teachers are coming from sources other than Professional Development funds allocated through the Collective Agreement.
d. If a project is canceled, the funds are to be returned to the general professional development fund for reallocation either in the current year or in the subsequent year.
e. All funds remaining at the end of the project year are to be returned to the general Professional Development fund for other use unless the Professional Development Working Committee has approved the groups’ continued use of the funds
Examples of Past Projects
Still wondering what types of things might be funded. Here are all of the projects that were funded last year!
- Professional Growth Council ($3000). This contribution offset the overall cost of the professional growth council. As a partner in the event, the STA PD Chairperson was involved in conducting a needs survey, helping plan the overall direction for the sessions, selecting the speaker etc. The committee also has School District 63 representation. Approximately 75% of this initiative will be paid for by the school district and 25% by the Saanich Teachers.
- Tapestry Tri-District Conference ($3000). For many years the Saanich Teachers’ Association has participated in the planning and execution of the Tapestry Conference. This conference is organized by the PD Chairs from the Saanich Teachers’ Association, Sooke Teachers’ Association, and the Greater Victoria Teachers’ Association. Each local contributes a minimum of $3000 to keep the registration fees low for teachers.
- LSA Grants (4 @ $500 each). Each year the Saanich Teachers’ Association offers 4 grants for Local Specialist Associations. Each grant is worth $500 and requires the group to submit an application as well as a constitution, list of executive members, list of members and proposed plans for the year. This year we have funded the Saanich Teacher-Librarians, The Special Education Association of Saanich, and the Saanich Music Teachers Association.
- Ed Camp ($1500). The STA contributed towards a successful Ed Camp event again this year.
- ILC Retreat ($800). A modest contribution from the STA helped to offset the costs of a retreat for ILC teachers.
These are just a few ideas of what you can do as a staff, or a team of teachers from various schools in the district.
We look forward to receiving your applications on or before April 30, 2024.
**Please note that Book Club Applications are accepted in the October of each school year and are separate.