OSEF Grant Application 2026

Thank you for your interest in a 2026 OSEF Teacher Grant. Note that these will be the ONLY OSEF Teacher Grants distributed in 2026.

Please review our submission guidelines, program priorities and funding prohibitions prior to submitting an application.

 

Submission Process

Grant deadline is Friday, August 14, at 5 pm. Upon submission, grants will be forwarded to school principals for approval. Prior to OSEF Board review, all names and identifying information will be removed. Applicants approved for funding will be notified and asked to attend a grant award presentation at the November school board meeting. OSEF funds will be available to applicants through the OSSD Central Office and must be spent by March 31, 2027.

Program Priorities

  • Originality of Project (weighted 30%) - Project is innovative, highly creative, and includes a different approach to teaching and learning.

  • Need (weighted 30%) - Grant application includes a clearly articulated need that addresses a solution to a problem.

  • Impact (weighted 20%) - Project strongly enhances and compliments the current instructional program through a collaborative process.

  • Sustainability (weighted 10%) - Project has a long-term impact with potential for growth.

  • Clarity of Project & Application (weighted 10%) - Process and objectives of the project are clearly defined.

Funding Prohibitions

Applications will not be considered for the following: staff development, professional training, consumables (i.e. printers, paper, ink cartridges, toner, etc.), incentives, field trips, or activities that take place outside of the school year.

Awards will not be made for the primary purpose of purchasing computers, tablets, or other technological devices. HOWEVER, technological devices that are utilized as part of a well-developed and comprehensive program will be considered for funding.

Any request for classroom furniture should be tied to specific goals or standards you plan to achieve in the grant. General requests for furniture will not be considered.

Grant Awards

Grant award minimum is $500; maximum is $3,500 - applications with funding requests outside of this range will not be considered.

Each teacher may serve as the primary applicant on ONE grant application only. Additionally, each teacher may serve as a secondary applicant (submissions as a group/team/grade level) on ONE grant application only.

A successful OSEF grant

Tips to prepare your submission

  • Our selections committee needs a budget to determine how the funds will be spent. An application without a budget will not be scored.

  • Consumables are not allowed in the budget (printers, paper, ink cartridges, etc.). Staff development, professional training, incentives, field trips, or activities that take place outside of the school year are also not allowed.

  • Schools are tax exempt so this should not be in your budget.

  • Your application will not be considered if the budget amount is under $500 or over $3,500.

  • If you submit past the deadlines listed on the website, your application will not be scored. You will be considered ineligible.

  • Putting a “placeholder” for funds for things you might need to round out the budget number is not allowed. The committee needs to fully understand how the funds will be spent. Please take time to detail this with the items for which you are requesting funding.

  • Your project should directly impact students in your school, the students you teach, or support student learning in some way in the district. Be sure to include this in your submission.

  • These are not reviewed favorably, as they require additional funding each year to maintain. The preference is for initial materials to be purchased that can be used by students for several years.

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