Community Impact Fund
As part of the Teach For Armenia Leadership Development Program , Teacher-Leaders move to rural communities where they not only teach , but also plan and implement Community Impact Projects . We believe that in order to transform the nation , we must spark innovation in every corner of it — and innovation necessitates a more holistic approach to education , which expands opportunities for our students in rural parts of the country . Our Teacher-Leaders play an important role in fostering an ecosystem for change , so that our students can grow up with expanded opportunity .
After the launch of the organization ’ s Kochari in February 2020 , the Learning & Innovation Team piloted a new Community Impact Philosophy in order to guide the creation of all such projects . We set out to create clear and streamlined processes that successfully support Teacher-Leaders in designing and implementing meaningful projects aligned with our new philosophy .
Scan to Learn More : Teach For Armenia ’ s Kochari .
In order to achieve this , we established a cross-departmental Community Impact Working Group , and together designed a Community Impact Rubric to assess the potential of projects and choose the strongest ones to receive funding from Teach For Armenia . The rubric categories included competencies focused on : Co-Creation , Theory of Change , Goals & Measures , Timeline , and Budgeting . Over the course of two rounds , Teacher-Leaders received feedback from the working group and participated in sessions on project planning .
During the 2020-2021 school year , 100 % of our fifth generation of Teacher-Leaders submitted Community Impact proposals . More than two-thirds scored at the “ proficient ” or “ advanced ” levels for “ Co-Creation ,” a core competency that was prioritized in the first year of the pilot . In total , Teach For Armenia ’ s Community Impact Fund granted nine winners a total of $ 20,000 . Furthermore , the Community Impact Working Group works closely with our Leadership Development Managers , who are able to provide on-the-ground personalized coaching so that Teacher-Leaders are able to implement their projects successfully .
Additionally , during July ’ s Virtual Student Leadership Camp , we piloted Change-Based Learning with our students . Through the program , groups of students designed pitches for their very own Community Impact Projects . Of the 50 pitches we received , 24 received microgrants to implement their ideas . Ideas just like Mane ’ s , whose story can be found in the introduction of this report . The outcomes of the Virtual Student Leadership Camp were so powerful that we have decided to merge the Community Impact Fund process for Teacher-Leaders with the new student-led initiative .
Annual Report 2020 33