The Teacher Fellowship was established by the New York State PTA in 1961 to encourage excellent teachers to stay in the classroom by providing an opportunity for them to improve their teaching skills, update their professional knowledge, and expand their professional perspectives. In 1992, the Fellowship was named to honor a “Master Teacher,” Richard Gazzola, who served on the New York State PTA Board of Directors for many years prior to his untimely death in 1991.
NOTE: This grant can ONLY be used for course work completed after submission of the application and can be used anytime up to August of the following year.
Completed application (link below) including official transcripts for graduate degree and letters of recommendation must be postmarked, not metered, no later than to be considered.
PDF Application Form
PDF Application Form (Fillable)
Google Form Application
Mail to:
Recognitions Specialist
NYS PTA Office
One Wembley Court
Albany, NY 12205-3830
Allow sufficient time to obtain the necessary transcripts and letters of recommendation. If the application and all supportive data are not postmarked by June 15th, the application will NOT be considered. (If the deadline falls on a weekend or holiday it will be extended to the next business day)
Applicant must:
NOTE: Applying for a grant from another source must be indicated on the application. Receipt of a comparable grant would make applicant ineligible for a Fellowship. Notification of acceptance of such a grant should be sent to the NYS PTA Office immediately.
Academic ability, professional promise, relevance of proposed study to improve teaching proficiency, and course of study must be in a field to improve the applicant’s teaching proficiency.
The following courses shall not be considered:
Financial need is NOT a consideration.
The applicant is responsible for the following:
May be awarded outside the usual requirements of formal classroom attendance when the applicant can convince the committee of its value by presenting a written plan for a course of study not met by available graduate courses. No more than one such Fellowship will be awarded in any year.
Applications are reviewed by a committee of members of the New York State PTA Governance Team.
Winners are notified on or about August 15th and receive a contractual agreement which must be signed and returned.