Frequently Asked Questions
How do I acquire the items I am requesting?
For PPS schools, the funds are delivered to the school via check and you will work with the admin team to order your items. This is one reason we need your principal or administrator on board and perhaps the bookkeeper or school secretary, too. *For DDSD schools, due to a specific grant restriction, AT will be ordering items directly. We want to keep the process simple. Let us know if you have ideas!
Who qualifies for Admire Teachers’ support?
We are currently offering support to K-5 school teachers at Title 1 schools in the Portland Public School district and the David Douglas School District as of the fall of 2023. We hope to include additional districts in the future. The grants range from $50 to $350 with a $1,000 maximum per school. You can see a list of PPS Title 1 schools here.
What types of things does Admire Teachers support?
Teachers know what they need so we do our best not to restrict the things we will fund. We love project based learning so we are drawn to projects that allow kids to get their hands dirty, so to speak. Maybe you want to bring in a guest speaker, take students on a field trip, or just need some art supplies. The truth is that teachers have all sorts of needs and we recognize that. Our goal is to help teachers be the best educators they can be.
How long does it take for a teacher to get the funds?
We hope to turn things around in as little as two weeks. Our feeling is that teachers don’t always know ahead of time what they will need and we feel that it is important that we respond quickly. The turn around time is dependent on when your principal signs off on the request so please communicate with them as needed.
What is required of teachers once they have received support?
We can more easily achieve our mission when teachers share their success stories with us and let us know how the support impacted their students. Photos are great too. When other teachers read about these experiences, they are more likely to apply. We are always looking to improve what we do so we do send out a brief survey. Beyond that, we just ask educators to help spread the word about Admire Teachers.
Why are the funds restricted to certain districts?
We are Portland based and want to start close to home. Our hope is to expand to more districts, possibly raise the limit on our grants, and have a greater number of grants available in the future. We are just getting started. If you have thoughts about how we can grow, we would love to hear your ideas.