Deeper Learning Grants - The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

Grant Name: Deeper Learning Grants

Funding Organization: The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

Grant Cycle: rolling

Website: http://www.hewlett.org/grants/grantseekers/deeper-learning-grantseekers

Funding Guidelines: Deeper Learning grantmaking strives to increase economic opportunity and civic engagement by educating students to succeed in a changing world. Ultimately, deeper learning is designed to provide all students with access to rigorous, relevant, and innovative educational opportunities. This component of our grantmaking supports work in the following three areas:

• POLICY: Promoting policies or strategies that create incentives for schools to focus on deeper learning—particularly, improved assessments used to measure students' academic growth
• PRACTICE: Building educational systems’ capacity and practice, both online and in the classroom, to reach large numbers of students with deeper learning
• PROOF POINTS: Supporting proof points, including model K-12 school and community college networks, and funding research that documents how deeper learning is an attainable and necessary goal for all students

We accept Letters of Inquiry for the following work:

• Policies and strategies at the state or national levels that create incentives or remove barriers for schools and districts to focus on deeper learning
• Design and implementation of communications work to understand public perceptions of deeper learning and to improve both understanding and public will to support related reforms
• Innovative summative and formative deeper learning assessments that are aligned with the Common Core State Standards
• Development and distribution of high-quality curricula, tools, and other education resources for widespread use
• Scalable¹ deeper learning professional development models and supports for teachers and school leaders
• Scalable¹ digital learning environments that deliver proven, evidence-based deeper learning outcomes
• Scalable¹ efforts to align deeper learning expectations in higher education with K-12 college readiness standards in math and English language arts
• Innovative efforts to use deeper learning strategies to improve the success of underprepared community college students
• Networks to support the high-quality implementation of deeper learning by teachers and education leaders 
• Rigorous research analyzing the connection between the acquisition of the skills and knowledge that define deeper learning and post-secondary success, civic engagement, and improved workforce outcomes

¹ Scalable is defined as high potential to reach thousands of teachers and tens of thousands of students at a reasonable cost

We do not accept inquiries to fund the following:

• Computer equipment
• Individual schools
• Individual after-school programs
• Apprenticeship programs
• Environmental or health education
• Pre-K/early education programs
• Four-year degree programs
• Post-baccalaureate, graduate-level, or professional degree programs
• Creation of new degree programs
• Student services, including GED preparation, counseling services, and career centers
• Libraries and museums
• International meetings and conferences
• Non-credit workforce training
• Programs that primarily serve non-U.S. students

Foundation funds cannot be used for IRS-defined federal lobbying. For federal purposes, lobbying means carrying on propaganda, or otherwise attempting to influence legislation as defined by Internal Revenue Code Sections 501(h), 4945(d)(1) and 4945(e) and related regulations. 

The Foundation also makes operating grants to organizations, always based on the applicant’s organizational priorities and its compatibility with our Education Program's goals.

How to Apply:

Application Materials:

If for a project:

• Please describe your proposed project’s expected outcomes and deliverables (max 1,500 characters, including spaces).
• How does this project fit with the goals and strategies of the Hewlett Foundation’s Education Program? (max 1,000 characters, including spaces)
• What is the project’s expected budget?
• What amount are you requesting from the Hewlett Foundation?
• What is the expected length of the project (in months)?
• Other comments (max 1,000 characters, including spaces)

If for general organization support:

• Please summarize your organization’s mission and work (max 650 characters, including spaces).
• How does your organization fit with the goals and strategies of the Hewlett Foundation's Education Program? (max 1,000 characters, including spaces)
• What is your organization’s annual budget?
• What amount are you requesting from the Hewlett Foundation?
• Other comments (max 1000 characters, including spaces)

Background:

Deeper learning delivers the skills and knowledge students will need to succeed in a world that is changing at an unprecedented pace. Deeper learning prepares students to:

• Master core academic content
• Think critically and solve complex problems
• Work collaboratively
• Communicate effectively
• Learn how to learn (e.g., self-directed learning)

The Hewlett Foundation adopted this new focus after months of research and analysis, including more than 100 interviews with top thinkers in the fields of education, business, and public policy. Over the course of our exploration, we found widespread agreement that America's schools must shift focus dramatically in order to prepare all of our children to succeed in a fiercely competitive global economy and tackle the complex issues they will inherit. The stakes are high, particularly for low-income students who attend low-performing schools with persistent racial and ethnic achievement gaps that fail to prepare them for college and careers. The Program plans to place special emphasis on ensuring these students receive equal opportunities for deeper learning.

For America's students today, commerce, politics, society, and technology are defined in international terms. They face competition from students with access to high-quality post-secondary training from every corner of the planet. Technology advances at an exponential rate, bringing with it new ways of learning and increased access to educational tools and materials.

As other countries are improving their education systems, too many American students are not being properly prepared in foundational subjects such as reading, writing, math, and science. Nor are we paying sufficient attention to cultivating the skills students will need to thrive in a globally connected job market. In one survey after another, business leaders complain that the majority of U.S. job applicants are ill-equipped to solve complex problems, work in teams, or communicate effectively.

At the same time, the problems of society are becoming even more complex and intertwined. More than ever, students today will need to rely on a sophisticated set of critical thinking skills and a working understanding of economics and the scientific process to sort out competing political arguments on everything from financial regulation to climate change.

The Foundation envisions a new generation of U.S. schools and community colleges designed to give all students—especially those from underserved communities—the knowledge and abilities necessary to succeed in this new environment. These schools would harness the deeper learning skills of critical thinking, problem solving, effective communication, collaboration, and learning how to learn to help students develop a strong foundation in traditional academic subjects.

The benefits are clear at every level. Students need deeper learning to succeed in college and prepare for careers. The United States must cultivate its talent and raise its overall educational attainment in order to lead in the global economy. And the world needs these capabilities to solve critical problems through teamwork and international collaboration.

The Education Program will invest in organizations that:

• Promote policies or strategies that create incentives for K-12 schools and community colleges to focus on deeper learning—particularly improved assessments used to measure a student's academic growth
• Build the capacity of the education system and teaching practices both online and in the classroom to reach large numbers of students with deeper learning
• Support proof points, including model K-12 schools and community colleges, and fund research that promote deeper learning as an attainable and necessary goal for all students
• Develop new, innovative models to increase access for all students and to improve deeper learning

For more information about the Education Program's support of deeper learning, please read the Program's strategic plan.

The Education Program accepts Letters of Inquiry for its Deeper Learning grantmaking. For more information, click here.