The NAEd/Spencer Foundation is accepting applications for their non-residential Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, which supports early career researchers working to address critical areas of educational research. For the 2023-2024 academic year, the NAEd/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship Program will fund 25 individual fellows, each receiving $70,000 for one academic year of research, or $35,000 for two contiguous years, working half-time. Professional development retreats will also be held, along with mentorship from current NAEd members or senior scholars in their fields. To be eligible, candidates must have earned their PhD, EdD, or equivalent research degree between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2021, and should have experience in educational research. The deadline to apply is Wednesday, November 16, 2022. 

Additionally, the NAEd/Spencer Foundation will be hosting an informational webinar for those interested in applying. Registration is now open.

• Wednesday, September 21^st, 2022
  2:00 pm ET

The U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES) invites proposal submissions for the Learning Acceleration Challenges, which seeks school-based interventions to significantly improve student outcomes in math and science. There are two challenges available under the IES Learning Acceleration Challenges. The Math Prize seeks digital interventions to support third through fifth-grade students with or at risk of a disability that affects math performance. The Science Prize aims to address and improve science achievement for middle school students through non-digital, digital, or hybrid interventions. Several cash prizes are available, starting at $25,000, with a grand prize of $500,000 for the Math and Science Prizes. The application deadline for both challenges is Friday, September 30, 2022.

Best wishes to Pavlo “Pasha” Antonenko and Kara Dawson for their proposal to the National Science Foundation; May Mansy, Pavlo “Pasha” Antonenko, and Mary Jo Koroly for their proposal to the National Institutes of Health; Amor Menezes, Pavlo “Pasha” Antonenko, and Karla Shelnutt for their proposal to the National Science Foundation; Kent Crippen for his subcontract NIH flow through proposal to the Institute for Future Intelligence; Wei Li for his proposal to the National Science Foundation; Hongcheng Liu and David Miller for their proposal to the National Science Foundation; Mostafa Reisi Gahrooei and David Miller for their proposal to the National Science Foundation; Anne Corinne Manley for her subcontract IES flow through proposal to Boston University; Robert Moore for his proposal to the National Science Foundation; Nigel Newbutt for his proposal to the National Science Foundation; Paige Pullen and Philip Poekert for their subcontract Florida Department of Education flow through proposal to the School District of Hillsborough County; Paige Pullen for her two proposals, one to the Jefferson Parish Public School System and one to the Early Learning Coalition of Broward County; Matthew Schmidt and Pavlo “Pasha” Antonenko for their proposal to the National Science Foundation; Kejun Huang and Wanli Xing for their proposal to the National Science Foundation; and Pengfei Zhao for her proposal to the William T. Grant Foundation.

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The Condition of Education is an annual report mandated by congress to monitor educational progress across the nation. It indicates a slew of challenges special education is facing, including: 15% of PK-12 public school students in 2020-2021 receiving specialized instruction through IEPs, a struggle in hiring teachers, in particular for special education classrooms, lower academic achievement for students with disabilities when compared to achievement of their peers without disabilities, and large high school proficiency gaps as illustrated in NAEP science, reading, and math assessment scores. The concerns surrounding special education students extends to postsecondary education, where the percentage of students is even higher than public PK-12. Mark Schneider, the director of IES, has recently shared the critical need to improve special education through research efforts and speaks to the research endeavors of IES to investigate strategies that work for students with disabilities and in what conditions.

The National Science’s Foundation’s (NSF) Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR) invites proposals to the CAREER program from members of the STEM education research community. In a recent Dear Colleague Letter, EHR highlights the CAREER solicitation and how it aligns with their organizational goals. EHR supports STEM education, and the Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is an opportunity for faculty in this area to build a foundation for their academic careers. Read the full letter for more information about the grant opportunity and the directorate’s role. If you have questions about the program, you can also contract ehrcareer@nsf.gov.

The Department of Health and Human Services has forecasted a grant opportunity to be posted next month that would establish a national center for increasing recruitment and retainment of a diverse early childhood education workforce, providing technical assistance, and supporting rigorous research efforts. The funding will be through the Office of Child Care (OCC) and posted in this newsletter when the opportunity is live and ready for receiving applications. Please consider collaborating with your peers ahead of the proposal deadline (set to be October 13) and reach out to OER for any needed support.