The Bridgeport Education Foundation was founded in 2001 with the help of late Superintendent, Richard O’Hara. The purpose of the grant is to encourage, recognize, and reward innovative and creative educators across Bridgeport ISD.

In order to apply, you must:

• Be employed by Bridgeport ISD in an instructional capacity

• Have permission from your campus principal

• Identify an innovative project that will enrich student learning at BISD

How much will be awarded?

The Bridgeport Education Foundation will award grants of up to $2,500 to individual applicants and up to $5,000 to team applicants. The number of grants awarded will depend on funds available from the Bridgeport Education Foundation.

When will grants be awarded?

The Bridgeport Education Foundation will award grants throughout the school year so that grant funds can be put into action when they are needed. 

What does the application process look like?

A Bridgeport Education Foundation Innovative Educator Grant may be submitted any time after the first day of the school year and can be filled out online at bridgeportef.org/grantapplication. Each grant application will be reviewed by the Bridgeport Education Foundation board or by a grant committee appointed by the Bridgeport Education Foundation and scored on a rubric. Any application that is denied will be returned with input to the applicant identifying why the grant was denied and what can be done to modify the application.

What are the responsibilities of approved grant recipients?

Grant recipients should use awarded funds only for the purchase of items disclosed in the grant application. All items purchased with awarded funds are the property of the Bridgeport Independent School District. Any grant that involves technology should be done so in partnership with the Bridgeport ISD Technology Department.

The Bridgeport Education Foundation requests that you provide a short 30 to 60 second video of yourself providing an update to us on your grant project after it has been implemented. This should be filmed in landscape mode and sent to bportbef@gmail.com no later than December 31st. In your video, you should introduce yourself and let us know what your grant was about. We enjoy updates that let us know how your students have been affected by the grant as well as some student interaction in the video. It is important to leave a few seconds of silence before and after your video as it will be edited together with other recipients to be included in our annual banquet video.