Professional Development

Garrison Forest offers funds for faculty professional enrichment through two restricted endowment gifts: the Dodge Grants and the Chanler Awards.

Dodge Grants and Chanler Awards are designed to support summer professional development activities which cannot be appropriately supported by regular professional development conference funds or other school funding sources. The primary criterion for awarding the grants are that the programs funded should benefit Garrison Forest, as well as the individual teacher.

Established in memory of Lois "Lodie" Earll, Upper School science teacher, the Lois Earll Research Grants provide funds to faculty members interested in working on a research project in his or her discipline.

All disciplines are supported by Earll Research Grants.

Funded by parents P.J. and Helen Zinreich Shafer '93 to inspire Garrison Forest faculty and staff to further teaching and learning in a generative, transformative way, the Shafer Innovation Grants benefit Garrison Forest and support the goals of the school.

The Shafer Innovation Grants provide compensation for projects beyond activities currently covered through regular professional development. Evaluation and implementation of a project are critical elements to a successful Shafer Innovation Grant.

Grant recipients are required to present their results and an action plan or "white paper" at the end of the grant period to Garrison Forest's Leadership Team and to the Shafer family. The white paper should include plans for implementation and plans for additional presentations to appropriate GFS peers, parents, trustees or conferences.

The purpose of the Summer Sabbatical Grant is to allow senior (seven years or more) faculty, administrators and senior-level staff members who play a direct educational or support role with students, to pursue an interest or activity for personal growth.

The Don Elliott Sabbatical Award, given in memory of longtime humanities teacher Don Elliott, is granted to an applicant whose proposal reflects the devotion to life-long learning and renaissance spirit of the award’s namesake.

In general, sabbatical awards are granted on the basis of seniority. The committee also may consider factors including the amount of the award, benefit to the recipient and/or Garrison Forest, equity in distribution among divisions, previous receipt of a sabbatical award and the like.

The purpose of the Summer Sabbatical Grant is to allow senior (seven years or more) faculty, administrators and senior-level staff members who play a direct educational or support role with students, to pursue an interest or activity for personal growth.

The Don Elliott Sabbatical Award, given in memory of longtime humanities teacher Don Elliott, is granted to an applicant whose proposal reflects the devotion to life-long learning and renaissance spirit of the award’s namesake.

In general, sabbatical awards are granted on the basis of seniority. The committee also may consider factors including the amount of the award, benefit to the recipient and/or Garrison Forest, equity in distribution among divisions, previous receipt of a sabbatical award and the like.

Garrison Forest offers financial assistance with tuition to full-time faculty, administrators and senior level staff members who play a direct educational or support role with students.

Awards are subject to the availability of funds and the relevance of course work to the GFS curriculum and programs. Each faculty member may request up to $6,000 per year and awards are capped at a maximum of between $4,000 and $6,000 per year, depending on the number of faculty members requesting assistance and the availability of funds.

Faculty members are encouraged to participate in workshops and conferences pertaining to their teaching responsibilities.

A variety of professional workshops and conferences are supported by GFS, with an overarching goal of allocating available monies equitably throughout the school with an emphasis on areas of need and specific themes.