Building on a historic 2022 gift that created endowed scholarships for candidates in the new Teaching and Teacher Leadership (TTL) master’s program, a group of Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) donors came together to provide additional support through a corresponding fundraising campaign: the Challenge Match for Teachers.
This matching campaign was launched alongside the announcement of the $40 million founding gift for TTL, the largest in HGSE’s history. The gift was made by anonymous donors motivated by a desire to support excellent teachers who will make a significant impact in schools, particularly in high-need communities. To inspire others, the donors, who are alumni of Harvard Business School, offered to match up to $10 million from additional supporters similarly committed to investing in teachers and financial aid.
Twelve households responded with new gifts, including Julia Langworthy Steinberg AB ’91, EdM ’22 and Jeffrey Steinberg AB ’91. “I hope to remove barriers for others whose lives could be transformed, like mine, by studying at Harvard. I work as a preschool teacher, and I‘ve been looking for ways to reach beyond my students and my school to share the benefits of my education,” says Langworthy Steinberg. “By contributing to the Challenge Match for Teachers, my husband and I can support more teachers who will further change the world.”
The founding gift and Challenge Match funds provide endowed scholarship support for master’s students through the TTL program’s signature fellowship, the Harvard Fellowship for Teaching, a prestigious award that covers 80 percent of tuition costs and provides a $10,000 living stipend to eligible selected candidates. Ultimately, these scholarships will provide annual support for 40 students.
The impact those students will go on to have in classrooms and in the field was top of mind for many donors. “John and I are thrilled to invest in the TTL program to support and develop teachers,” says Diana Nelson AB ’84—a Harvard Corporation member—who, along with her husband, John Atwater, gave to the campaign. “It is hard to imagine a source of human capital that has more potential impact.”
The TTL program, which welcomed its first cohort of students in fall 2022, creates pathways to success in the classroom and in school leadership roles that will empower graduates to thrive as effective practitioners, collaborators, and mentors in their communities. Seeking to elevate the critical role that teachers play in the broader education ecosystem, the program emerged from HGSE’s seven-year effort to reimagine and redesign all of its master’s programs with a focus on foundational knowledge and evidence-based practice.
“We’re delighted to announce this milestone in our fundraising efforts to support teachers and to nurture the teaching profession at Harvard,” says Dean Bridget Terry Long PhD ’00. “And we’re deeply grateful to our donors and partners who share the same goals. Teachers are centrally important in our communities, and the positive impact of an equity-focused, effective teacher can be nearly limitless. Through the generosity of the HGSE community, we’ll be able to support talented master’s students in our TTL program in perpetuity, making a difference in classrooms for generations of learners and families to come.”
Increasing financial aid funding across the board remains a top priority for HGSE, which has raised $80 million toward a $100 million goal thus far.
“More than 70 percent of students needed financial support to attend HGSE this year,” says Long. “So even as we celebrate this milestone, there is more work to do to make HGSE more affordable for all the talented and dedicated aspiring educators, innovators, and leaders we attract and serve.”
