ADOPT A CLASSROOM
Based upon the success of the Freedom Writers Institute and the resulting impact on their students, the FWF has developed the Adopt a Classroom Program. The program provides sponsoring groups the opportunity to:
o Sponsor a scholarship for a qualifying educators in their community to attend the Freedom Writers Institute in Long Beach, California.
o Receive periodic updates on how the teacher and his or her students are progressing and how well the program is working. There is no limit as to how much or how long the results can be followed. That is up to the sponsor and teacher.
o In future years, if the sponsor so desires, the sponsor can continue additional support for field trips or other activities that the teacher feels are needed to support their specific curriculum.
o Follow specific students’ progress in future years with their permission.
o Arrange for or facilitate through the sponsor’s contacts, field trips or special events that support the adopted teacher’s curriculum (at their request).
Benefits to teachers, students, and communities:
At the Freedom Writers Institute, educators are brought to a deeper level of awareness, acceptance and action as they undergo training in the Freedom Writers Method in their classrooms to enhance and improve their ability to be effective. Teachers of grades 6-12 in English, Language Arts, and Social Sciences are invited to apply. Learn more in our Freedom Writers Institute.
Training Highlights:
Teachers participate in and learn a pedagogical framework through which they can:
o Engage students in the learning process
o Enlighten them intellectually, and
o Empower them to achieve their academic and civic goals.
Topics covered in each training session:
o Journal writing
o Interactive icebreakers
o Substantive writing lessons
o Analytical tools
o Strategies and techniques for promoting
o Service learning
Continued Support
The FWI also places teachers within a network that is devoted to helping teachers help each other. Post training, educators receive support from the Foundation and its collaborative partners.
Participation process:
The sponsor defines, with guidance from the Foundation, the specific target group from which to select the teacher scholarship recipient (e.g. school district, specific university graduate, geographical area etc.).
The sponsor agrees that they:
o Will develop support to solicit a sufficient number of qualified applicants from their target group that meet the FWI applicant requirements in order to select a recipient.
o Will not select the scholarship recipient. Application acceptance and approval is solely made by the FWI. Will solicit, obtain and send the FWF the required $10,000 for the scholarship prior to the final selection of the recipient.
o The participating teacher will agree to the ongoing communication and interaction with the sponsor.
o It is understood by all parties that the scholarship covers all expenses for the training including airfare, accommodations, and materials. A portion of each scholarship supports the continued development of the FWI programs. The FWI commits to the sponsor that the teacher will attend an upcoming FWI teacher training session.
If your organization is interested in formally adopting a teacher, here are the steps to take:
1. Once your organization has formally made its decision to participate in the Adopt a Classroom Program please contact the FWF/Freedom Writers Institute at (562) 433-5388 to inform us of your desire to begin the process. We then review with you the appropriate forms and supporting material that are available.
2. As a first step you need to identify a specific geographical area that the sponsored teacher will be selected from (e.g. a specific state, city, school district etc.). Additionally you may, if you so desire, stipulate where the pool of teacher candidates will come from in addition to the geographic description (e.g. a graduate of a specific University etc.).
3. We suggest you formally appoint a committee or selected individuals to launch two critical activities: Soliciting the required funds and creating a scholarship applicant pool sufficient for the Freedom Writers Institute (FWI) to select a scholarship recipient from. The applicants must meet the requirements defined by your organization and the FWI requirement of currently teaching Language Arts grades 6 – 12.
4. Provide information to your membership on your organization’s effort to support the Adopt a Classroom Program and solicit their financial support using the draft format documents you will receive from the FWF.
5. Solicit teacher applicants. Draft solicitation announcements are available from the FWF. You may choose other organizations or networks to assist you in promoting the opportunity (e.g. school districts, various teacher organizations in your area, universities with schools of education etc.). You can periodically check with the FWF to determine how many applicants they have on record, and if they are sufficient to make a recipient selection from.
6. When the required funds are collected, submit them to the FWF. For tax deductibility, if you are a registered non-profit you can collect the funds and then submit them to the FWF. If you are not a registered non-profit and individual donors wish to deduct their support, they can make their individual checks out to the FWF as per the donor form.
7. The FWI will notify you when the recipient is selected and you may in turn notify the recipient.
8. The recipient will work directly with the FWI to make arrangements to attend an upcoming Freedom Writers Institute training session.
| 
