Donors Invest in Teachers, Reaching Key Milestone

Building on its meaningful investment in the teaching profession — and the historic 2022 gift that created endowed scholarships for candidates in the new Teaching and Teacher Leadership (TTL) master’s program — the Harvard Graduate School of Education has announced the successful completion of a corresponding fundraising campaign: the $10 million Challenge Match for Teachers.

“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 Long. “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.”

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 meaningful impact in schools, particularly high-need communities. To inspire others, the donors, who are alumni of Harvard Business School, offered to match up to $10 million from additional donors similarly committed to investing in teachers and financial aid.

Julia Langworthy Steinberg, A.B.'91, Ed.M.'22, and Jeffrey Steinberg, A.B.'91, were among those inspired to support the match campaign. “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 combined donations total $55 million in endowed scholarship support for master’s students in the TTL Program. They make possible the program’s signature fellowship, the Harvard Fellowship for Teaching — a prestigious award that covers 80% 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 the field was top of mind for donors. “John and I are thrilled to invest in the TTL program to support and develop teachers. It is hard to imagine a source of human capital that has more potential impact,” says Diana Nelson, A.B.’84, who, along with her husband, John Atwater, gave to the campaign.

The Teaching and Teacher Leadership 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 TTL 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. The TTL program also builds on the legacies of HGSE’s Teacher Education master’s program and the Harvard Teacher Fellows Program.

The fundraising campaign for teachers is part of a broader effort to raise financial aid funding across the board — something that remains a topmost priority. The school set an overall goal to raise $100 million for that purpose — and it has raised nearly $80 million thus far. Financial aid ensures that HGSE is affordable for the best and brightest students, while helping to nurture a stronger and more diverse student body.

“More than 70% of HGSE 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 of the talented and dedicated aspiring educators, innovators, and leaders we attract and serve.”