PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT GRANT

Be inspired by a PD of your choosing – get creative about a new skill, a new approach or deepening your current knowledge.

This annual grant opportunity is for K-12 educators who want to level up their teaching and student learning by participating in an in-person or virtual Professional Development.

Check out the Application Questions here!

• Attend a conference in person or virtually

• Bring a subject matter expert to your school or district

• Collaborate in a work session with other educators

• Visit a school locally or out of state

Eligible schools are those with a qualifying zip code in our service area. Click here to review Eligible Zip Codes.

St. Louis Public School (SLPS) educators, we invite you to explore grant opportunities through our friends at the St. Louis Education Fund. While ITEF cannot currently make direct grants to SLPS institutions, we look forward to supporting your work in other ways.

• Lean into Learning is a rolling grant cycle. Applications are accepted until funding has been spent.  There is no predetermined application end date.

• ITEF will fund a maximum of five professional development (PD) grant requests per school/district.

• At least two educators must be represented on one application, with a funding request maximum of $5,000.

• Up to $25,000 may be requested for a group of five or more educators attending the same conference. At least five educators must be in attendance for a $25,000 request. Your budget must include expense details for all participants. 

• Priority will be given to unrepeated applicants. Submitting or being named on multiple applications does not guarantee that more than one application will be funded.

• Exceptions may be considered for school-wide or department-level initiatives. For example, an educator may apply for a PD opportunity for themselves and a colleague and separately submit a request for a speaker to present to the entire school community.

• Check with your district’s professional development approval process prior to submitting your application to ensure your request is eligible at the district level.

• Expect at least a 30 day turn around between submission and notice of award, and an additional 15-day turnaround for grant payment, or longer, if your school does not accept electronic payment through Bill.com 

• Reach out to ITEF prior to submitting if multiple schools or districts are interested in collaborating to co-host an expert speaker or local conference.

• NEW: Educators who receive a Lean into Learning grant for an individualized professional development experience must wait one full grant cycle before reapplying. For example, a 2026 award recipient would not be eligible to apply again until 2028. (Exceptions may be considered for department-wide or school-wide professional development opportunities.) This update is intended to help ITEF support a broader range of educators and schools across the region.

    Email ITEF@innovteched.com with any questions!