Where community empowers public education

Professional Development

Giving our educators the opportunity to advance their skills and knowledge directly benefits our students. The LAPS Foundation supports professional development for educators by paying for conferences and training, licensure advancements, professional book groups and more.

See below for some examples of past grants.

Two teachers applied to attend the 2018 National Reading Recovery and K-6 Literacy Conference in Columbus, Ohio. The professional development offered at the conference had specific strands targeted towards literacy coaching and intervention, which are the areas that the teachers deemed to have the most direct benefit for their students, themselves, and the staff  at their school.

A librarian attended the 2017 What’s New in Young Adult Literature, a seminar designed for secondary schools. At the seminar, there was an overview of the best new young adult books published that year. It provided a practical approach for selecting the best young adult books for schools. The presenter talked about books and demonstrated methods of integrating the highlighted books into the school’s curriculum. Attendees received an annotated handbook of all the books and list ideas and activities to promote reading. In addition to the free handbook, books were available to purchase.

Several art teachers requested to attend this conference with the goal of planning and delivering quality art educational experiences for students to ensure rigorous and meaningful learning. In their application they stated, “As we collaborate to research, share best practices, techniques, and projects with each other, we recognize the need to look nationally to be current with the new, exciting, and changing trends in art education.” The LAPS Foundation funded them to attend the National Art Education Association (NAEA) National
Convention, March 22-24, 2018, in Seattle, Washington and bring the knowledge and experience they gained back to their classrooms.

“Thanks to the grant provided by the LAPS Foundation, I was able to attend a prestigious music education conference. While there, I took advantage of many beneficial classes and workshops that gave me ideas, materials and techniques I could bring back to use in my classroom and share with colleagues right away and develop for the future.”
–Zane Meek, Los Alamos High School Music Teacher, Recipient of a Professional Development grant

Educators – to apply for a Professional Development Grant, click here.