K-12 Educator Fellowships

Our K-12 Educator Fellowships support educators from all around Virginia who are committed to teaching the humanities for primary and secondary school students. Our use of the term “educator” encompasses anyone who is committed to creating inclusive learning experiences in a K-12 classroom.

All educators committed to teaching the humanities (including media specialists, librarians, curriculum specialists, after-school specialists, home school teachers, and other non-traditional educators) are encouraged to apply.

About the Fellowship

The cohort will consist of educators from across the state and will bring a wide range of humanities curriculum focus, from the elementary level to the high school level, allowing them to design new learning experiences that are easily accessible for both a physical classroom and remote use.

The cohort of K-12 Educator Fellows will spend nine months creating two learning experiences with lesson plans (designed around the current Virginia Standards of Learning) and aid in planning a professional development offering in collaboration with other fellows and Virginia Humanities staff. Fellows will be given a stipend of $4,250. Fellows will be given unique opportunities for collaborations with specialists in their areas of interest and may also have the opportunity to partner with Virginia Humanities’ programs such as With Good Reason radio, Encyclopedia Virginia, the Virginia Center for the Book, the Virginia Festival of the Book, and the Virginia Folklife Program.

All fellows are strongly encouraged to focus lessons on historically excluded populations and peoples. Lesson plans and learning experiences created as part of the fellowship will be available online and free to all educators on the Virginia Humanities Education website. 

At the end of the fellowship, the goal is that fellows will walk away equipped with deeper knowledge of both national and Virginia history, as well as a more profound understanding of how to bring the humanities into the classroom. Throughout this process, fellows will reflect extensively on how to create truly inclusive classroom experiences and will work collaboratively both with the cohort and the Virginia Humanities team. We understand many educators are already doing this work and do not want to heavily add to these workloads — we encourage fellows to build upon work they might already be doing to help make their work accessible to other educators and classrooms. 

Virginia Humanities is wholly invested in cultivating partnerships that embody our commitment to inclusion, which is increasingly reflected in our cultural programming statewide. We deeply value the voices and work of marginalized communities and strongly encourage educators who represent the diverse and intersecting identities that contribute to the fabric of Virginia to apply for this fellowship.

Payment

Fellows will be paid $4,250 in two installments: 

• Fellow will receive first payment of $3,000 on July 31, 2026
• Fellows will receive final payment of $1,250 when all deliverables are turned in on December 31, 2026

More Information

For questions about this fellowship opportunity please contact Emma Ito, director of education, at xxr5qr@virginia.edu.

Support the next generation of Virginian scholarship.

The Fellowship program relies on endowed and named fellowships to uncover stories about Virginia’s history and culture. Be a part of this valuable work by funding a Fellowship today.

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