Applications for the 2013-2014 Washington and Classroom Teaching Ambassador Fellowships are now available. The deadline for applications is January 29, 2013 at 11:59 pm EST.  

If you are interested in receiving updates regarding the 2013-2014 Fellowship, sign up for email notifications. If you have questions regarding the Teaching Ambassador Fellowship program, please email TeacherFellowship@ed.gov.

Please read the Eligibility, Program Overview, Frequently Asked Questions and Application Instructions carefully before you complete this application. Please note that only currently practicing Preschool-12th grade teachers and instructional coaches/specialists with at least five years of experience are eligible to apply for this program (if the 2012-2013 school year is your fifth year teaching, you are eligible).

Applications for the 2013-2014 Teaching Ambassador Fellowship are now closed. For updates on the 2013-2014 selection or the 2014-2015 application processes, sign up for email notifications. If you have questions regarding the Teaching Ambassador Fellowship program, please email TeacherFellowship@ed.gov.

Updates on the 2013 – 2014 application process:

1. Technical difficulties on the narrative responses.

Many candidates shared that they had technical difficulties while submitting their narrative responses. We have not experienced this in the past and reported the problems to the systems managers. However, we understand how frustrating and time-consuming this made the application and want to convey our sincere apologies as well as appreciation for the applications we received. Candidates should be assured that applications will receive a fair review regardless of these issues. If you have not already done so, we urge those of you who experienced these issues to send a clean version of your narrative responses in one document to TeacherFellowship@ed.gov. Please write your name in the document, as well as the Fellowship track for which you are applying.

2. Timeline for the application review.

We expect initial application screening and review to last through March and plan to conduct telephone and in-person interviews with the mostly highly rated applicants in April. Final decisions are expected shortly thereafter. All applicants will be notified of their status, one way or the other, at the various points in the review process. While we understand that candidates are anxious to notify schools and districts of their status, conducting a thorough and fair review of all applications takes us some time. We ask for your patience and understanding during this process.

Candidates for the Teaching Ambassador Fellowship must complete the vacancy posted through USA Jobs. Up to 12 Teaching Ambassador Fellows will be selected for 2013-2014—up to 6 Classroom, or part-time, Fellow and up to 6 Washington, or full-time, Fellows.

The position provides outstanding school teachers who have a record of leadership, strong communication skills, and insight from their classroom experiences, a paid opportunity to expand their knowledge of policy and contribute to the national dialogue about education.

As the final team of selected Fellows should represent the diversity of our student body and settings in which students receive instruction across the country, the Department encourages teachers of students from all age levels, subject areas, grade spans, and types of communities to consider applying, including those teaching students from high poverty backgrounds, those with disabilities, or English-language learners. The program is open to teachers in traditional public, charter, virtual, military, tribal, and private schools and early childhood programs in urban, suburban, or rural settings across the United States.

All applicants must submit three application components:

A Resume – This is the Official Federal Resume that is required for application through USAJobs. It will be used to verify the applicant’s experience and background.

Narrative Responses - These are six short written responses (no more than 500 words or 3500 characters) describing specific contributions to student learning, leadership experience, communication skills and networks, policy interests and expertise, applicable training and development experiences, and school/community support. Please note that the last two narrative responses must be substantiated by the two letters of recommendation referenced below; each letter of recommendation must align to each of the last two narrative questions (5 and 6).

Two Letters of Recommendation – The first letter, in conjunction with narrative question number five, must come from a teacher or leadership development program or activity regarding your capacity for this work. Applicants must demonstrate involvement with professional training experiences that have prepared them for work with the Department through frequent speaking and writing about teaching, education systems, and/or policy. For previous Fellows, these have included master’s or PhD programs in public policy or education leadership; school, district, state or union led teacher leadership development programs; participation in activities requiring intensive reflection such as for the Teacher of the Year program or National Board for Professional Teaching Standards assessments; and/or other professional training programs. Teacher applicants must discuss this experience in the related narrative question (#5) and attach this letter of recommendation from organization or individual who can speak to the experience. Please note that this can include a range of possible experiences and this is not an exhaustive list. For more examples, you may want to view biographical information for the 2008 through 2012 Fellows.

Additionally, applicants must provide a letter of recommendation in conjunction with the related narrative response (#6) demonstrating support from school, district, or early childhood program administrators for the applicant’s participation in the program and the required Intergovernmental Personnel Agreement (IPA). Please note that school leaders do not need to guarantee IPA approval in this letter or submit any paperwork at this point of application. The letter should simply acknowledge a willingness to pursue the IPA in order to foster collaboration at the school level and ensure open communication about the program between participating teachers and school leaders. This letter demonstrating administrator support should corroborate the response to narrative question number six.

Teaching Ambassador Fellows are hired for the year under the Intergovernmental Personnel Act mobility program. The IPA mobility program provides for the temporary assignment of skilled personnel to or from state and local governments and certain other organizations to facilitate cooperation between the Federal government and the non-Federal entity and provide mutual benefits, for limited periods without loss of employee rights and benefits.

For the Classroom Fellowship program, the IPA is completed with the selected teacher’s employers to clarify that the teacher is being hired for work in addition to their current position for the year. The Department requests that the employers agree to provide unpaid leave for the Fellow to participate in the program ranging from minimal hours for travel (approximately 10 days during the year) or to release the Fellow up to 25% of their time to create a hybrid position. The specifics of a hybrid position would initially up to the Fellow and their primary employer to determine and negotiated with ED at the point of selection. All travel, except an orientation during the summer, is subject to the availability of the Fellow given their school duties and responsibilities.

To begin the application, select the vacancy posting link. Be sure to carefully follow all directions and steps included within the Vacancy Posting. For step-by-step instructions, please print and read the Application Instructions.

Teaching Ambassador Washington Fellowship Vacancy Posting

Teaching Ambassador Classroom Fellowship Vacancy Posting

You may apply for one or both positions and to be considered for a position, you MUST submit an application for that position. The two different postings contain exactly the same items, with the exception of Questions 5 and 6, regarding applicable training and school community support which are worded to reflect the unique aspects of the individual positions. Your responses for all other questions may be the same for all postings if you apply for more than one of the Fellowship tracks. It is recommended that you compose and save your answers in a separate document and then submit them as instructed.

Once the closing date has passed, your application will be referred to the hiring manager for further consideration and possible interview. Due to the anticipated volume of applications, program staff will not be able to respond to individual inquiries about your application status.