Innovative
Teaching Grant
About the Innovative Teaching Grant for Schools Program
M-DCPS Foundation’s Innovative Teaching Grant Competition is for all Pre-K through grade 12 schools, including alternative schools, primary learning centers, and specialized centers.
A submitted project must promote innovative educational activities, challenging academic achievement standards, and impact students through an individual classroom activity. The project may also include before- or after-school enrichment programs.
Grants in the amount of $3,000 are awarded to three (3) schools from each of the three regions for a total of 9 grant awards. Each school may submit one Innovative Teaching Grant application. The total amount available District-wide is $27,000. Funds will be deposited into the school’s bank account and placed by the school treasurer in a Trust Grant Account. Funds can be used for educational materials, equipment, field trips, entrance fees, bus rentals, and supplies. No funds can be used for personnel expenditures. All expenditures must be consistent with applicable Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) policies and procedures.
Applications are grouped by region. A review committee will score and rank applications and the three (3) highest-ranked applications per region will be awarded.
The review committee is comprised of M-DCPS Foundation Board Members, members of the community, district staff from the Office of Grants Administration, School Operations, and the Office of Community Engagement, and school-site representatives.
2026-2027 Mini-Grant Competition for Schools
On behalf of the Board of Directors of the M-DCPS Foundation, we are pleased to inform you that YOU have been selected to receive a $3,000 grant under the Mini Grant Competition for M-DCPS Schools.
The review committee consisted of ten (10) members of the M-DCPS community, including a school-site representative, a District/School Operations administrator, and Grants Administration and Community Engagement administrators. Applications were grouped by Region and each application was reviewed and scored by the review committee.
South Region:
- Hammocks Middle – Lois Seaman – “Sowing the Seeds of Sustainability”
- Southwood Middle – Vivian Ventura – “Keep Southwood Sounding Sweet: Cello Repair Initiative”
- South Dade Sr. – Mark Godinez – “Academy of IT & AI Collaborative Studio: Fusing Technology and Marketing Through STEAM”
Central Region:
- iTech @ Thomas Edison – Dr. Ledly Moss – “CyberForge: Building Future Cyber Defenders Through Networking, AI, and Competitive Cybersecurity Excellence”
- Jesse J. McCrary’s – Elani Walters – “Dolphin Discovery Lab”
- Lillie C. Evans – Latrice Bethea – “Virtual Reality Science Lab”
North Region:
- Lawton Chiles Middle – Yania Ramirez – “Food Science & Culinary Innovation Grant”
- Miami Lakes K-8 Center – Ms. Marisol Villanueva – “Social Entrepreneurship Project”
- North Glade Elementary – Jasmine Hart – “Living Literature Lab: A Differentiated Student-Centered Approach to Gifted Learning”
