Faculty Funding Requests

The Wellesley High School (WHS) Parent Teacher Student Organization (PTSO) welcomes the opportunity to work with the administration, faculty and staff at WHS to provide supplemental funding in the form of grants as our budget and financial resources allow and within the guidelines described below.

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General Guidelines for Faculty Grant Requests

Requests of $1,000 or less are generally preferred. Larger grant requests can be considered but may be held in abeyance to help ensure equity in funding across departments.

In general, the WHS PTSO will consider the following types of funding requests:
- Requests for professional development, especially in the form of conferences and courses;
- Requests for speakers and other group-based knowledge enrichment for faculty, staff and/or students;
- Requests for consultants to work with faculty; and
- Requests for classroom materials, equipment and other durable goods that cannot be covered by departmental funds, especially when the need arises from funding budget gaps.

Within these broad parameters, the PTSO will give preference to expenditures that will (in no particular order):
- Advance the stated educational goals of a department, WHS, or the Wellesley Public Schools (WPS);
- Result in richer learning experiences for WHS students;
- Enhance the cohesive functioning of a department; and/or
- Have a positive impact on the greatest number of students or the longest duration of time.

Consideration will be given to whether prior requests by the same individual have been made during the same school year in order to ensure a wider distribution of funds.

Guidelines: Grant Requests for Professional Development

The PTSO will generally limit its funding of professional development opportunities (excluding the cost of travel) to $1,000/year per educator.

Depending upon the financial resources available, reasonable travel expenses (i.e. travel and/or lodging) for out-of-state conferences may be possible.

For professional development, the PTSO will fund non-credit course fees only. Applicants are welcome to fund the incremental cost above a non-credit course fee in order to earn credits.

Faculty, administrators and staff who are awarded grants for professional development (i.e., training or attendance at conferences) are expected to share their learning with their colleagues.

Any grant awarded for professional development will be forfeited if the grant recipient is no longer an employee of WPS on the anticipated date of the conference or training.

Guidelines: Grant Requests for Speakers or Other Group-Based Knowledge Enrichment

Will be considered on a case-by-case basis based on audience, other funding sources, budget, content, etc.

Guidelines: Grant Requests For Classroom Supplies, Durable Goods and Equipment

Not eligible for funding are: refreshments, decorations, and other entertainment-related expenses. Although funding for other consumables (e.g. paper and other supplies) may be considered, preference will be given to requests that have a more lasting impact on our community.

Funding for durable goods (e.g. books) and equipment will be considered on a case-by-case basis, especially where budget shortfalls create an urgent need.

Equipment and other durable goods purchased using PTSO grants are considered the property of Wellesley Public Schools and should be shared with other teachers, staff and departments when feasible.

Process

Funding requests should be submitted to the PTSO for consideration using the online form below.

Generally, requests submitted by the first working day of a month will be considered by the PTSO Executive Board during that month's Executive Board meeting. Decisions are usually reported back to the applicant by the 15th of the month.

Before submitting a grant request, please confirm with your department head whether funding (in whole or in part) is available from the department's budget.

After a grant request is submitted to the PTSO, the PTSO may request clarification or additional information about the request before making a final decision, which may impact this timeline. A member of the PTSO Executive Board will notify the grant requestor of the decision by email.

In considering grant requests, the PTSO may seek advice and guidance from the WHS Principal, appropriate department head and/or other members of the WHS administration.