Greenwich Township One of 18 Districts Awarded Teacher Climate and Culture Innovation Grants

PHILLIPSBURG, NJ - New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and his administration announced on May 6, 2024, that nearly $2 million has been awarded in Teacher Climate and Culture Innovation Grants.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE FREE TAPINTO.NET NEWSLETTER

The New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) announced grant funding designed to enhance teacher climate and culture by supporting districts in developing and implementing strategies to reclaim teacher time. The grant aims to aid districts in reducing administrative paperwork and streamlining other tasks that pull educators away from the class.

In total, 18 school districts are being awarded Teacher Climate and Culture Innovation Grants. Among them is Greenwich Township in Warren County, which was awarded $74,993 as a key recommendation of Gov. Murphy’s Task Force on Public School Staff Shortages.

DOWNLOAD THE FREE TAPINTO APP FOR MORE LOCAL NEWS. AVAILABLE IN THE APPLE STORE AND THE GOOGLE PLAY STORE .

“Teachers have one of the most important and challenging jobs in our society, playing an integral role in the lives of young learners and setting them on course for lifelong success. Doing our part to uplift our educator workforce not only signals our appreciation of their hard work, but it also directly benefits our students,” said Governor Phil Murphy. “This grant program is yet another innovative measure to combat burnout in the teaching profession, allowing educators to focus their time and attention on what matters most – educating and inspiring the next generation.”

The Teacher Climate and Culture Innovation Grant Program will support schools with efforts including developing policies and procedures designed to streamline administratively burdensome aspects of teacher-evaluation process, leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to assist with functions such as outside communication and lesson planning, creating a “library” of ready-made instructional materials and model lesson plans that other teachers can readily access, thereby reducing the time educators spend exploring and researching such materials for their lessons and moving away from weekly lesson planning where teachers submit lessons plans every week for an administrator’s review, toward submitting unit plans that achieve the same goal but may be submitted every several weeks instead.

“We are glad these grants have been awarded and look forward to seeing the real-world benefits for educators and students alike,” said NJEA President Sean M. Spiller. “By working in close cooperation with their local unions, these 18 districts will have the opportunity to innovate in ways that reduce paperwork, create greater opportunities for professional collaboration, and improve working conditions so that educators have more time to focus on meeting the needs of every student. Most importantly, all districts will have the opportunity to learn from what works in these 18 districts so that all students and educators in New Jersey can benefit from this smart investment.”

Other school districts in Northern New Jersey include two schools in Bergen County and one in Essex County. For Central New Jersey, there are three schools in Middlesex County, one in Monmouth County, and two in Somerset County. For South New Jersey, one school in Camden County and seven schools in Gloucester County were awarded a total of $1,992,293.

The grant program is slated to run from February 28, 2025. Awards, which ranged up to $200,000, were based on the number of teachers in the district and prioritized to ensure all regions of the state were represented in this opportunity.

For more local news, visit TAPinto.net