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Center for Furniture Craftsmanship Expands ‘Teaching the Teachers’ Scholarship Program

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Center for Furniture Craftsmanship, a nonprofit woodworking school in Rockport, ME, has successfully raised $1 million to sustainably endow its Teaching the Teachers scholarship program. Launched as a pilot in 2018, Teaching the Teachers awards scholarships to schools and service organizations that teach woodworking to economically disadvantaged communities. Scholarships cover the full cost of enrolling a partner institution’s instructor in CFC’s workshops, so that he or she can return to their own programs with new woodworking skills and information.

As a result of its fundraising, CFC is able to offer one additional summer workshop scholarship for 2020 beyond the seven it has already awarded, and seeks nominations from new partner institutions. More information is available on the Center’s website or by directly contacting Director of Development Ellen Dyer. The nomination deadline is March 15, 2020.

The Teaching the Teachers scholarships that have already been awarded for 2020 have gone to Eldon High School in Eldon, MO; The MiLL in Colorado Springs, CO; Hudson River Maritime Museum in Kingston, NY; Narragaugus High School in Harrington, ME; Lansdowne High School in Lansdowne, MD; and Granite School District in Salt Lake City, UT. Additional partner institutions in the program are Alexandria City Public Schools in Alexandria, VA; Eastern Maine Community College in Bangor, ME; Greater West Town Community Development Project in Chicago; IL; Kids Making It in Wilmington, NC; Machias Memorial High School in Machias, ME; Messalonskee High School in Oakland, ME; and Salem-Keizer Public Schools in Salem, OR.

To advance Teaching the Teachers, the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship also affiliates with advocacy organizations that promote woodworking education for vocational training and economic development. Current affiliates are the Michigan Industrial and Technology Education Society, the Northern Forest Center, and the Wood Career Alliance of North America. Financial support for Teaching the Teachers is provided by the Mattina R. Proctor Foundation, the Horowitz Family Scholarship Fund, and the Betterment Fund.

The Center for Furniture Craftsmanship invites inquiries from potential institutional partners and affiliates. For more information, please contact: Ellen Dyer, development director, 207-594-5611.

Richard Christianson

Center for Furniture Craftsmanship Offers ‘Teaching the Teachers’ Scholarships

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The Rockport, ME, institution issues invites woodworking instructors to apply for free training courses. 

In 2018, the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship launched a successful pilot program for a new scholarship initiative called Teaching the Teachers. Recipients are educational institutions and non-profit organizations in the U.S. and abroad that provide woodworking instruction to economically disadvantaged communities. We invite partner institutions to nominate individuals from their own teaching staffs whose continuing education at the Center is most likely to benefit their own programs. Our intent is to leverage the excellent education in woodworking and design that we deliver on our Rockport, ME, campus for greater social impact.

For 2019, funding for Teaching the Teachers is doubling, thanks to support from the Mattina R. Proctor Foundation, the Horowitz Family Scholarship Fund, and the Betterment Fund. We will offer eight one-week scholarships and seek new Institutional Partners.

What the Scholarship Covers
Scholarship awardees receive fully funded participation in regularly scheduled courses at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship. These can range in length from one-week and two-week Workshops to an eight-week Turning Intensive or a 12-week Furniture Intensive, as best meets the needs of the partner institutions and fits their candidates’ availability. The Center for Furniture Craftsmanship pays all necessary expenses above and beyond any that are already provided for under a partner institution’s professional development policies (with the sole exception that the partner institution pays a nonrefundable registration fee of $80 for an awarded Workshop and $500 for an awarded Intensive). Covered expenses include tuition, materials, travel, and lodging, at a minimum. In some cases, per diems are offered for costs such as meals and lost income.

How to Become an Institutional Partner
In order to nominate instructors for Teaching the Teachers scholarships, schools and non-profits apply to become Institutional Partners. We welcome inquiries from community colleges, trade schools, Title 1 secondary schools with Career and Technical Education programs, and non-profit and governmental social-service organizations. Current Institutional Partners are Eastern Maine Community College, Bangor, ME; Greater West Town Community Development Project, Chicago, IL; Kids Making It, Wilmington, NC; Machias Memorial High School, Machias, ME; and Messalonskee High School. Oakland, ME. To inquire, please contact Ellen Dyer as directed below. Applications are considered on a first-come, first-served basis.

How to Become an Institutional Affiliate
Institutional Affiliates of Teaching the Teachers are advocacy organizations that promote woodworking education for vocational training and economic development. Current affiliates are the Michigan Industrial and Technology Education Society, Northern Forest Center, and Woodwork Career Alliance of North America. We welcome new affiliations with organizations positioned to endorse Teaching the Teachers and connect us to new Institutional Partners.

For more information, contact Ellen Dyer, Development Director, Center for Furniture Craftsmanship, 25 Mill St.,  Rockport, ME  04856; 207-594-5611; ellen@woodschool.org.