Moses Brown School is deeply honored to announce its selection as an April 2026 recipient of the prestigious Edward E. Ford Foundation Educational Leadership Grant. MB was awarded a $250,000 grant, which requires a 1:1 fundraising match from our community. This recognition places Moses Brown among a select group of independent schools recognized nationally for pursuing generative, transformational, and replicable ideas.

The E.E. Ford Foundation’s Educational Leadership Grants are awarded to schools proposing bold, new ideas that catalyze change and address broader challenges in independent education. Being selected for this highly competitive grant is a profound endorsement of Moses Brown’s vision and our dedication to teaching excellence.

With this grant, Moses Brown will establish a teacher-leader program. Too often in independent schools, career advancement requires exceptional teachers to leave the classroom for administrative roles. Our new program changes that paradigm. It is designed to provide our highly motivated and accomplished teachers with meaningful opportunities for increased challenge, leadership, and professional growth while remaining rooted in the classroom. This initiative directly addresses a well-documented national challenge: retaining highly effective, experienced classroom teachers.

"One of the most promising opportunities for independent schools is to pioneer models that reward the entire profession,” says John Gulla, Executive Director of The E.E. Ford Foundation. “Moses Brown's teacher-leader program is a bold, replicable approach to retaining highly effective educators. The Foundation is pleased and proud to support this effort to invest in teaching excellence and strengthen the cohesive learning experience for students."
As a core component of our Light the Way 2034 strategic plan—specifically the Care for People pillar—this program invests directly in the educators who make Moses Brown extraordinary. Teacher-Leaders will serve within a structured cohort model, participating in a monthly seminar and designing professional development initiatives for the broader faculty. Ultimately, this ensures our students continue to experience outstanding instruction and cohesive learning.

"When we launched our Light the Way vision, we made a distinct promise to elevate our Care for People. At Moses Brown, we know that the depth of the relationships between our students and our teachers is the very heartbeat of our school," says Head of School Katie Titus. "This grant allows us to boldly invest in our educators, giving our most experienced teachers the mentorship and leadership opportunities they crave, while ensuring they remain right where our students need them most—in the classroom.”

Empower Our Educators (Invest in Teaching Excellence)

To unlock the full $250,000 from the E.E. Ford Foundation, we must raise a 1:1 cash match from our community. We invite our alumni, families, and friends to be early leaders in supporting this pivotal Light the Way initiative. This is a unique and impactful opportunity to invest in the educators who inspire the inner promise of our students and ensure Moses Brown remains at the forefront of teaching excellence. For more information, contact Elizabeth Breidinger, Director of Advancement.