Friends Announces Innovative Faculty Development Initiative: E.E. Ford Foundation’s $50,000 matching gift spurs GROW Program

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 6, 2011
Contact: /410.649.3216

Baltimore, MD—

Friends School of Baltimore has received a $50,000 one-to-three matching grant from The Edward E. Ford Foundation to support the design and implementation of a comprehensive professional development program. Called GROW (Growth and Renewal in Our Work), the four-year pilot has a projected cost of $200,000 and the grant from E.E. Ford will fund the program for Upper School faculty and administrators. Friends will bring the program to the Lower and Middle School divisions through separate funding.

To take advantage of the $50,000 challenge, Friends must raise $150,000 in new or increased gifts for the pilot program by July 31, 2012. Gifts directed toward the match must be explicitly identified as such by including “GROW” on the memo portion of the check or, if giving online, clicking the designated “GROW Fund” link on Friends’ online giving page. To access the page, click here.

The major gift comes at a critical time, according to Head of School Matt Micciche. “The ambitious goals we’ve set for ourselves in establishing the Friends’ Teaching and Learning Paradigm (see image below) require a heightened level of coordination and collaboration in our professional development,” he said. “Every aspect of the GROW Program is designed to better prepare teachers to achieve those outcomes.”

The GROW pilot is expected to launch in fall of 2012. Friends will keep the School community updated on the one-to-three challenge match and additional details about the GROW Program as they emerge.

 

Now in its 227th year, Friends School of Baltimore is an independent, college preparatory school for boys and girls age 4 through grade 12. Rooted in the enduring values of the Quakers, the School is committed to providing a balanced education and developing in each student a vigorous intellect and the habits of a peaceful heart.