A Comprehensive Guide: Federal Funds for Sustainable Transformation in U.S. Schools and Districts

Common Funding Categories

Source: Burbio

At TeachUNITED, our coaching programs are designed to support your staff in a holistic manner, focusing on enhancing teaching skills, bridging learning gaps, and improving teacher retention rates. As you chart your course for the coming year, we’re here to lend a helping hand in sorting through funding options and evaluating your professional learning needs. As a non-profit organization, we often leverage grant funding from our partners to underwrite a portion of the cost, with supplemental funding currently available for middle schools.

Common Funding Hurdles

In our conversations with schools and districts nationwide, a common concern arises — the pressure to spend federal funds without adequate time and resources to formulate a sustainable plan. To address this challenge, we’ve compiled a set of questions to help you overcome hurdles and identify the best use of your allotted funds:

Navigating federal funding can indeed be complex, but with the right guidance, you can unlock a wealth of opportunities for sustainable transformation. Our expert coaches are here to serve as your partners in this journey, empowering educators to transform their practices and build internal capacity for years to come.

Other Funding Options

Ultimately, our collective goal is to see students, teachers, and school leaders fulfill their greatest potential. At TeachUNITED, we’re committed to making this vision a reality by providing the support and resources you need to navigate federal funding, drive sustainable transformation, and empower your school community.

Interested in bringing this type of immediate impact to your school or district? 

Investing in Your Schools: TeachUNITED delivers Tangible ROI for Teachers and Students

Last school year, TeachUNITED partnered with schools in rural New Hampshire, Colorado, Mississippi, and Missouri to provide educator coaching programs customized in partnership with and for the needs of each school community. Servings 150,000 students, TeacherUNITED has partnered with more than 400 schools and districts and more than 11,000 educators.

These coaching programs aim to strengthen teacher and administrator skills, build systems of support, and improve student learning. To do that, participating teachers learn pedagogy-based strategies through 1:1 coaching and small- and large-group peer learning communities.  

As the data shows, the results have been extremely positive, for teachers, students, and their school communities as a whole.

Outperforming Peers on State Standardized Tests

TeachUNITED schools outperformed their peers across the board on state standardized tests. TU schools had 93% more growth in math and 22% more growth in English Language Arts compared to non-TU schools. Those increases in proficiency rates resulted in our schools having 11% more students on grade level in math and 8% more students on grade level in ELA versus comparison schools.

Percentage Point Increase

TeachUNITED schools in New Hampshire more than tripled the state average growth in ELA. Despite the fact these schools had traditionally underperformed in student growth, TU helped turn the tide, with the schools posting a 17% improvement in their average ELA student growth percentiles, more than 28x the growth of comparison schools. Across the state, the expected student growth is standardized at 50. In ELA, the median ELA SGP moved from below expected growth in 2022 (47.4) to greater than expected in 2023 (55.6). Similarly, in math, students posted greater than expected gains with an 51.6 SGP. In other words, TeachUNITED schools are helping kids grow more and grow faster.

TeachUNITED schools in Mississippi posted similarly impressive gains. TU schools had a full 10% increase in the rate of students scoring at proficiency or higher. While comparison schools still failed to have half of their students reach grade level proficiency in math, TU schools increased to 66% of students performing at or above grade level.

Significant Improvement for Low-Income Students

Economically disadvantaged and low-income students tend to score lower on state and national assessments. In New Hampshire, low-income students typcially score proficient or higher at less than half the rate of their higher-income peers. After just one year of TeachUNITED programming, proficiency rates increased by an impressive 54.5% in ELA and 9.6% in math, compared to a respective 2% and 5.8% increase for comparison schools. 

These gains resulted in greater than expected growth for economically disadvantaged students. Though schools had posted below expected growth in 2022 with an SGP of 39.0 for low-income students, schools showed greater than expected growth in 2023 with a 54.0 for this subgroup of students.

Percentage Increase in Proficiency Rate

Teacher Retention and Impacts

Research tells us that motivated, engaged teachers stay at their schools longer and are more effective educators. The TeachUNITED program has a significant impact on teacher retention, with 100% of schools reporting an increase in teacher retention in 2023. The retention rate increased 12% year over year, helping schools keep good teachers in the classroom longer. 

Looking Ahead

Perhaps the most exciting part of this data is that these schools are still early in their improvement journey. TeachUNITED works with schools for two full years, first coaching a small group of champion educators to improve their classroom practices. Trained, champion teachers then lead the work with their full school staff in year two, supported by TU materials, coursework, and PLC webinar templates. As more teachers have the opportunity to participate in these powerful Professional Learning Communities, we expect to see student scores and teacher outcomes continue to improve in Year 2 and beyond. We’re proud of the work of the TeachUNITED SY2022-2023 schools have accomplished so far and excited to share their data as they continue in this work.

Interested in bringing this type of immediate impact to your school or district?