Dear Colleague:

We are pleased to announce that the application window for the 2022-2023 cohort of U.S. Department of Education’s School Ambassador Fellowship opened Friday, October 15, 2021.  The application portal will be open for application submissions through Friday, January 14, 2022!

As a supporter of impactful educator leadership, we hope you will promote this opportunity with school-based educators in your network and consider recommending talented colleagues to submit applications.

The School Ambassador Fellowship is designed to improve educational outcomes for students by leveraging the expertise of school-based practitioners in the creation, dissemination, and evaluation of national education policy. Founded on the principles of partnership, collaboration and cooperation with school-based educators, the Fellowship seeks to:

• Create a community of teachers, administrators, counselors, psychologists, social workers, and other school staff members who share their expertise with one another and collaborate with Department of Education leaders on issues important to students and educators nationwide.
• Involve practicing educators in developing policies that holistically affect learning environments.
• Highlight practitioners' voices and expand educators' critical leadership at the local, state, and national levels.

The School Ambassador Fellowship offers two separate 9-month tracks: full-time and part-time. The full-time appointment is based at the Department of Education Headquarters in Washington, DC and requires Fellows to relocate to the Washington, DC area for their Fellowship experience.  The part-time fellowship does not require relocation allows educators to maintain their regular school responsibilities in their home communities, while also participating in the School Ambassador Fellowship experience.

To be eligible for the School Ambassador Fellowship, participants must:

• Be a U.S. Citizen or permanent resident.
• Currently be a teacher, administrator, counselor, social worker, or other school staff member (and anticipate being employed in this role during the 2022 – 2023 school year).
• Be employed by a traditional public, charter, private, virtual, military (DoDEA), or tribal (BIE) school that serves any grade, preschool through twelfth.
• Have at least five years of experience in his/her role, up to and including the current school year.
• Have daily interaction with students and/or educators in his/her school/district role.

Ideal candidates for this program are educators from public, charter, independent, magnet, parochial schools, etc. who have made significant contributions to student learning and culture, can effectively communicate to a variety of internal and external education stakeholders, and can promote excellence in education through their collaboration and leadership capabilities.

How do local schools and districts benefit from having a School Ambassador Fellow represented at the Department of Education?

• Fellows provide a direct line of contact and communication between the Department and their local school communities.
• Fellows have the opportunity to elevate pressing education challenges faced by the students that they serve. 
• Fellows can build, foster, and facilitate relationships between their local educational communities and the Department’s nationwide network of educational organizations.
• Fellows will complete a capstone project that is designed to solve complex challenges that will directly impact students, families, and educators.

How can you help the School Ambassador Fellowship?

• Spread the word about the Fellowship and the application process on your website using the images and information attached
• Email the School Ambassador Fellowship flyer to your networks, members, stakeholders, and partners and encourage them to share the content with school-based educators.
• Share information through social media and tag us @FellowsAtED or using the hashtag #FellowsAtED.

Remember, the deadline to apply for the 2022 – 2023 School Ambassador Fellowship is Friday, January 14, 2022, at 11:59 pm EST.  For more information and to apply, please visit the School Ambassador Fellowship Website.  Prospective applicants should email us at SAF@ED.gov with general questions about the program or eligibility to apply.

We are excited about engaging great educators from your networks at the Department as we partner together to improve educational outcomes for all of our nation’s children. Thanks for your support!