2020-21 Celia B. Godsil Grants in Place Fellows Program

The Rural Schools Collaborative’s Celia B. Godsil Grants in Place Fellows program provides grant awards to rural school teachers who engage their students in exemplary place-based learning action research.

An applicant should propose a place-based action research project that will be completed by the end of the 2020-21 school year. We understand that this year is providing abnormal instructional challenges for many teachers and schools, and the selection committee will gladly consider projects that lean heavily on digital interactions and virtual work.

The Celia B. Godsil Grants in Place Fellows program is offered in conjunction with our regional Hub partners. Grants will be awarded to projects that will take place in the 2020-21 school year.

Eligibility for this grant is extended to rural classroom teachers who teach in school districts that are located in one of the Rural Schools Collaborative's ten regional Hub areas. Go to this link for more information on RSC Hubs.

Rural classroom teachers from the following states and areas are eligible for the program. Northern California, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, West Central Minnesota, Wisconsin, Missouri Ozarks, Illinois, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and the Appalachian regions of Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia.

Celia B. Godsil Fellows receive up to $3,000 in support funding. This includes a $1,000 honorarium, $1,000 for the student-centered place-based project, and what is estimated to be another $1,000 for travel support to a Fellows Convening, which is tentatively planned for June on the beautiful campus of Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois. Participating in the latter, assuming the event can be held, is a requirement for receiving a grant.

The Rural Schools Collaborative values the benefits of a diverse teaching force, and we encourage teachers who come from under-represented backgrounds in teaching to apply.

If you have a question regarding your school's eligibility for the program, please email RSC Director, Gary Funk, at [email protected]. (Please note that our National Signature Project Award, offered in the spring in partnership with the National Rural Education Association, is open to ALL rural classroom teachers throughout the United States)

Please read a more detailed description of the program.

Thank you!

The Grants in Place program is funded through the generous support from Celia and Mark Godsil in honor of Celia's career as a public school teacher and their belief in the importance of classroom teachers to rural communities. Celia and Mark reside in rural Knox County in Illinois.

We invite you to check out our past Grants in Place projects here.

Learn about more ways to get involved with the Rural Schools Collaborative community or contact us today at [email protected] with questions about this year's Grants in Place effort.