Learn With Us

Accessible learning opportunities for educators and community organizations, enabling real-world learning and supporting education ecosystems.

Fast-Track Grant:
Community Connected Learning

We are offering grants of up to $3000 to middle and high school educators to bring community-connected learning to their classrooms before the end of the 2025 school year. We’ve designed these grants to help you offer new kinds of learning experiences, forge meaningful partnerships with local organizations, businesses, and civic groups, and enrich your students' learning experiences during this time of year when flexibility and creativity are at their peak.

As the end of the school year approaches, many teachers experience a shift: with state testing completed and the pressure to cover the full curriculum lessening, there’s often more freedom and flexibility to explore new, creative learning opportunities. At the same time, this period can present the challenge of keeping students engaged and motivated as the excitement of summer nears. It’s the perfect time to try something new: connect your students with real-world learning experiences that spark their interests and link the classroom to the community. At the WPS Institute, we believe that education should extend beyond the walls of the classroom, connecting students to the real world and the communities around them. We help schools and communities embrace and successfully implement new ideas about where and how learning happens, to create more connected communities, empowered learners, and unbounded futures.

Applications due Monday April 28th

What is Included?

Funding Amount:

A $500 teacher stipend and up to $2500 in additional funding to cover costs associated with the project and:

1:1 Coaching Session with the WPS Team

As you plan your project, you’ll receive personalized coaching from the WPS Institute team. This 1:1 session will help you refine your project ideas, set clear learning objectives, and ensure that your community partnerships are aligned with your educational goals. We’ll work with you to make sure your project is both feasible and impactful.

Peer Learning Group

You'll have the chance to join a peer learning group with other grant recipients. This group will provide a supportive space to share ideas, troubleshoot challenges, and celebrate successes with fellow educators who are also implementing community-connected learning projects. Collaborative learning will help you grow your project and build lasting professional relationships.

Customized Tools for Evaluation

To help you assess the impact of your project on student learning, we will provide customized evaluation tools. These resources will guide you in measuring student engagement, learning, and the overall effectiveness of the community partnership. At the end of your project, you’ll have a clear picture of its impact and insights you can apply to future initiatives.

Applications due Monday April 28th

How Can Grant Funds Be Used?

Up to $2500 is available to each grantee to cover costs associated with the project, such as:

Honoraria for community experts
Equipment rental or purchase (e.g., cameras, audio recorders, or editing software for multimedia creation).
Field trip expenses (transportation to sites, entry fees).
Materials for presentations (e.g., printing materials, creating exhibits, or developing an interactive website).
Materials for field research (e.g., water testing kits, soil samples, or environmental monitoring tools).

Applications due Monday April 28th

Sample Project Ideas

Media Production and Social Advocacy: Students select a local issue they are passionate about (e.g., mental health awareness, climate change, racial justice), engage with local experts to deepen their understanding, and create a digital media campaign—this could include producing a mini-documentary, podcast, or social media campaign.

Sustainability and Stewardship: Partner with a local environmental organization or conservation area to help students conduct a local environmental survey (e.g., assessing water quality, biodiversity, or waste management in their community). Students can then use the data collected to create actionable conservation proposals or public awareness campaigns.

Leadership through Peer Mentoring: Older students design and run a near-peer mentoring program where they act as mentors to younger students, offering guidance on social-emotional learning, interest exploration, or the transition from elementary to middle school or middle school to high school.

Place-Based Service Learning: Collaborate with local historical societies or heritage organizations to create a multimedia project where students research and document the history of their community or school. This could involve collecting oral histories, producing short documentaries, or designing interactive maps or exhibits that highlight important local stories.

ready to APPLY?

GRANT APPLICATION

WANT to Learn More?

Email questions to: Info@wpsinstitute.org

Application Deadline: Monday, April 28th

Regional Networking

Join the Human Library!

Teachers: Create an account at no cost and be matched with community partners for a range of experiences and the opportunity to co-create learnin (Essex & Middlesex county teachers)
Community Partners: Create and post experience or service offerings; reach educators across Essex & Middlesex county.