The mission of the Rowland Foundation is to invest in Vermont teachers in order to positively change the culture and climate of schools. While culture and climate are closely related, they are not the same thing. Culture consists of the shared values, expectations, and ways of being in a school community. Climate is the way members of the school community perceive and experience these norms.
The Rowland Foundation has funded fellowships for over 100 Vermont teachers to positively change the culture and climate of schools. Through shared leadership Rowland Fellows have helped over 45 Vermont schools innovate in areas such as equity, accessibility, technology, place-based learning, and student voice. See the Rowland Fellowship grants awarded and schools funded to date.
The Rowland Foundation hosts the largest educational conference in Vermont with over 400 educators, students, administrators, policymakers, and community members participating each year. The Annual Rowland Conference features internationally known keynote speakers and workshops from Vermont educators. Early bird registration will open in May 2024 for our next conference on Democracy & School with keynote Jill Lepore.
Even as a growing body of educational research demonstrates the positive impacts of teachers of color for all students, Vermont's educator workforce does not reflect the increasing diversity of the overall population. In recognition of this disparity, The Rowland Foundation is pleased to offer a new grant program to support aspiring educators of color as they pursue licensure in Vermont. See our Rowland DEW Scholars here.
Women face unique challenges in educational leadership. The Annual Rowland Women Leadership Retreat is an immersive, experiential gathering of Rowland Fellows who identify as women, intended to provide a space where they can unplug from the demands of work and family and share experiences and strategies to address the unique challenges that women leaders face in the workplace.
During their cohort experience, Rowland Fellows focus on school-specific fellowship work with support from peers working at other schools. In the spirit of collective impact, the Rowland Foundation now supports veteran Rowland Fellows who team up across school districts to share ideas and do work at the regional or statewide level. Recent teams have focused on Digital Wellness and Deeper Learning.
Please email abby@therowlandfoundation.org for the link to join us.
With so many thanks to the Rowland Foundation, I would not have dreamt of the opportunity to head to two of the world’s “happiest” countries and be an observer on the forefront of education. I certainly would not have anticipated that most of the trip to Finland and Denmark would
The 13th Annual Rowland Conference will take place on Thursday, October 17, 2024 on the theme of Democracy & School with keynote speaker Jill Lepore. Dr. Lepore writes for The New Yorker and teaches at Harvard. She is the author of These Truths, a one-volume history of the United States that
Anja Pfeffer, 2021 Rowland Fellow, developed and implemented the Dare To Be Me program at Hazen Union. Learn more about the program and Anja’s work in this short video:
Each year the Rowland Foundation awards up to six Rowland Fellowships to Vermont middle grades and secondary school teachers. Since some teachers apply with a partner to share a fellowship, the number of Rowland Fellows selected from qualified applicants for each cohort varies from year to year.
The Rowland Foundation’s mission is to invest in Vermont teachers to positively change the culture & climate of schools. We welcome applications from all Vermont teachers who work directly with students in the middle or secondary grades. Administrators, instructional coaches, coordinators, and program directors are not eligible to apply.
