Teach Plus California Policy Fellowship

Training teachers as advocates to ensure that California teachers and students thrive

The Teach Plus conference Monday, April 10, 2023, at the Kimpton Sawyer Hotel in downtown Sacramento.
You are invited to apply for the Teach Plus California Policy Fellowship, a highly selective leadership opportunity for outstanding California teachers looking to deepen your knowledge of education policy and gain a voice in decisions that affect your students and the teaching profession.

What is the Teach Plus California Policy Fellowship?

  • Fellows expand their influence without leaving the classroom, starting in August 2024 and concluding in June 2025.
  • Teachers are recruited statewide, with a particular focus on those from the Arkansas Delta, Central Arkansas, and Northwest Arkansas.
  • Fellows participate in monthly sessions (virtual and in-person).
  • Fellows receive training through expert-led modules and direct engagement with key stakeholders. No prior policy experience required. 
  • Fellows receive a $1,500 stipend for their commitment.

What Does Teach Plus Do?

Teach Plus trains teachers in: understanding education policy as a lever for student success, community organizing, writing op-eds and speaking to the media, providing public testimony, and more. Teach Plus works to create and connect teachers to opportunities to lead in real ways at the policy level.

How Does It Work?

Teach Plus recruits and selects Teach Plus California Policy Fellows from across the state to participate in the cohort experience. Fellows become part of a larger movement of teacher leadership and help mobilize their peers around top issues impacting the teaching profession and educational equity in California. Teach Plus works with key stakeholders and policymakers to join the conversation.

Our Teach Plus California Policy Fellows have:

  • Testified at the California State Legislature and California State Board of Education. 
  • Conducted focus groups, led webinars for teachers, and presented at conferences. 
  • Successfully advocated for policy changes related to such issues as high-quality instructional materials that are culturally relevant, instruction and resources for English learners, and teaching standards.
  • Wrote op-eds that were published in EdSource, CalMatters, The Los Angeles Times, The San Diego Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, and other media outlets.
  • Researched and published policy briefs about revising teacher standards, diversifying the teaching profession, implementing the California English Learner Roadmap, and fostering empathetic schools, among other topics.

Know a teacher leader?

Nominate a teacher who wants to achieve change in their schools and in the broader education system.

Meet Our Teacher Leaders

Get to know the Teach Plus California Policy Fellowship teachers.

Teacher Voices