Teacher Ranger Teacher Program | P17AS00550

Teacher Ranger Teacher Program (Funding Opportunity Number P17AS00550) - FAQs

What is the Teacher Ranger Teacher Program?

The Teacher Ranger Teacher Program is a National Park Service (NPS) professional development initiative for K-12 classroom teachers. It is designed to help teachers strengthen instruction by connecting classroom learning to national parks and to educational assets maintained by the NPS, including primary source materials and scientific data.

What is the main goal of this grant opportunity?

The main goal is to expand teachers' meaningful access to NPS educational resources and help them translate those resources into project-based learning experiences. The intent is that teachers leave the program with concrete, classroom-ready instructional materials and activities grounded in authentic real-world resources.

Who is the intended audience or beneficiary of the program?

The program is built around K-12 classroom teachers and, by extension, their students. A major emphasis is placed on reaching teachers in rural, urban, and tribal schools, particularly where students have had limited or no exposure to national parks or related learning opportunities.

What does the program mean by "equity of access"?

Equity of access is a stated emphasis in recruitment and outreach. The program aims to prioritize teachers serving communities where students are less likely to have direct contact with national parks or the kinds of enrichment experiences and resources parks can provide.

What types of resources will teachers use through this program?

Based on the opportunity description, teachers are expected to engage with NPS educational resources such as primary source materials and scientific data, and to use these materials as the foundation for classroom learning experiences.

What is project-based learning in the context of this opportunity?

Project-based learning is described as an instructional approach where students investigate questions, analyze evidence, and develop products or presentations grounded in real data and primary sources. In this program, the expectation is that teachers learn project-based methods and incorporate NPS resources into these kinds of learning experiences.

What are participating teachers expected to produce or take back to their classrooms?

The program is structured so that what teachers learn is incorporated into concrete instructional materials and activities that can be used with their own students. This focus is intended to extend the impact beyond the participating educators and into their classrooms.

What kind of federal funding mechanism is this opportunity?

This opportunity is offered as a discretionary cooperative agreement under the Department of the Interior, National Park Service, within the Natural Resources funding activity category.

What does it mean that this is a "cooperative agreement"?

The posting describes the award as a cooperative agreement and emphasizes a partnership model where a qualifying higher education institution collaborates with the NPS to run or support the teacher professional development experience.

Which federal program listing is associated with this opportunity?

The opportunity is listed under CFDA 15.945.

Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is limited to public and state-controlled institutions of higher education. This indicates that colleges or universities are intended to be the applicant organization for the grant.

Are individual K-12 teachers eligible to apply directly for this grant?

Based on the eligibility statement provided, applicants must be public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, meaning the grant application is intended to be submitted by a qualifying college or university rather than individual K-12 teachers.

What role does the eligible higher education institution play?

The eligible higher education institution is expected to serve as a partner that organizes or administers the teacher professional development experience in coordination with the NPS, supporting the overall goal of training teachers and developing classroom-ready materials tied to NPS resources.

What credentialing or professional benefit do teachers receive for participating?

Participating teachers earn graduate credits during the program. The opportunity notes that these credits can be applied toward renewing or upgrading teaching credentials, making the professional development both instructionally useful and formally valuable for career advancement.

How much funding is available?

The posting listed an award ceiling of $56,340.

How many awards were expected?

The opportunity indicated an expectation of one award, suggesting a single funded partner would run or support the program for that cycle.

When was the opportunity created and what was the deadline?

The opportunity was created on July 26, 2017, with an original closing date of August 4, 2017. This reflects a relatively short application window for the cycle described in the posting.

What is the overall program model supported by the grant?

The grant supports a partnership model in which a qualifying higher education institution collaborates with the National Park Service to train teachers, expand student access to national park-based learning, and produce instructional materials grounded in NPS resources and scientific work.

How does this program aim to impact students, not just teachers?

By training teachers to build project-based learning experiences using NPS primary sources and scientific data, the program expects those resources to be embedded in classroom instruction. That approach is intended to make content more engaging and authentic for students and to expand access to national park-based learning opportunities.