Join the Changemaker Program to unleash the brilliance of students and teachers alike!
Program Description
Schools will learn how to teach so that students are empowered with the skills, knowledge, and agency they need to tackle the challenges we face in this century.
Educators will be equipped to design educational experiences where students master skills and content while solving real challenges from organizations in their community.
Teachers will learn instructional methods that result in deeper student engagement and the development of critical entrepreneurial skills like creative problem-solving, collaboration, research, critical thinking, and communication.
Korda Institute for Teaching is working to redesign public education for lasting systemic change that closes the opportunity gap. They have helped hundreds of K-12 schools around the world change how teachers teach and students learn. Whether in virtual or in-person courses, schools are seeing powerful student outcomes in engagement, academics and social-emotional skills.
Interested schools are invited to participate in a program where they will explore the elements of challenge-based learning, build internal capacity by upskilling teachers, test new teaching methods through carefully crafted pilots, receive tailored coaching, and influence an internal culture shift that puts students in the driver’s seat.
This program is available at no cost to schools, through a grant made by Burton D. Morgan Foundation to the Korda Institute.
Eligibility & Commitment
K-12 public schools in Cuyahoga, Summit, Portage and Mahoning counties in Ohio are eligible to participate in the Changemaker program. Participating schools will form a School Design Team that includes one administrator and 2 – 4 teachers.
School Design Teams are committed to:
-
Experimenting with new methods of teaching and learning;
-
Forming active community partnerships;
-
Being recorded for knowledge sharing purposes.
Open Call
A Virtual Open Call will be held on June 24, 2020 from 10:00 – 11:00 am. Any interested Principal from an eligible school may register for this one-hour introductory session on the Changemaker Program. The Principal and/or another appropriate administrator must attend the Virtual Open Call in order to register their school for the Changemaker Program.
Register for Open Call
Interested but can’t make the open call date? Contact us directly at info@kordainstitute.org.
Educator Training and Implementation
A maximum of ten schools that participate in the Open Call will be selected for the Changemaker Program. Through virtual training sessions, selected School Design Teams will:
-
-
Learn a 21st Century teaching methodology rooted in cognitive science;
-
Design a pilot project in which students learn skills and academic content while solving a real problem for a local organization; and
-
Access a robust digital toolkit with detailed lesson and project plans.
-
During the 2020-21 school year, School Design Teams will receive coaching and training from the Korda Institute that includes pre-pilot coaching calls, ongoing implementation support during their pilot projects, and post-pilot debriefs.
Grant Opportunity
All schools that complete training and pilot implementation are eligible to apply for a special Changemaker Grant from Burton D. Morgan Foundation. Up to four grants will be awarded totaling up to $400,000. Grants will be prioritized based on the school’s ability to transform classrooms into entrepreneurial learning environments for all students and facilitate the culture shift that will lead to lasting change.
Changemaker Schools that are interested in receiving three-year grants will submit an application to Burton D. Morgan Foundation that details what they plan to do each year and the amount of financial support they need to accomplish those milestones. Selected schools will implement their grants over three years (2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24 academic years.) An individual from each school will be asked to participate in a Changemaker Grants panel discussion at the annual Enspire Conference.
Changemaker Program Partners
Founded in 1967 by visionary entrepreneur and philanthropist Burt Morgan, the mission of Burton D. Morgan Foundation is to champion the entrepreneurial spirit, contribute to a robust entrepreneurial ecosystem, and serve as a leader in the field of entrepreneurship education. Morgan Foundation pursues its mission through grantmaking in support of Youth, Collegiate, and Adult Entrepreneurship; through regional ecosystem building to provide strong networks for startups and scaleups; and through knowledge sharing bolstered by its research arm, the Entrepreneurship Education Experiment. To find out more, visit us at www.bdmorganfdn.org.
Korda Institute for Teaching is an Ohio-based nonprofit whose mission is to transform school by changing how teachers teach and students learn. Founded in 2017 to empower schools to adopt a new educational model by equipping educators with teaching methods to fundamentally change their instruction and by providing administrators with a process to change their schools over time. Armed with these new methods, schools are transforming their students, teachers and communities. To date, our programs have impacted over 200 schools across 28 states and 13 countries. To find out more, visit us at kordainstitute.org.
