Louise Tillotson Teaching Fellowship

Eligibility | Evaluation criteria | Fellows | How to apply
Selection process | Questions?

The Louise Tillotson Teaching Fellowship program strives to raise public awareness about the value of excellence in education and to retain good teachers in the North Country schools of New Hampshire. This award is made to a select few each year.

Louise Tillotson — a self-made businesswoman, wife of Neil Tillotson (founder of the Tillotson Corporation and owner of The BALSAMS Grand Resort Hotel), and resident of Dixville Notch — established the fellowship in 2006.

“[Louise’s] interest in the fellowship was to give the teachers in the North Country the opportunity to go and gain skills that they could bring back and pass to their peers,” says her laywer, Ben Gayman. “She had great confidence in the fact that a strong education system would boost the community as a whole.”

Each fellow receives a cash award, typically $10,000 to $15,000, to be used at his or her discretion.

Fellows also are expected to:

Attend any awards ceremonies honoring the Tillotson fellows

Act as ambassadors for the program

Develop a mentoring program and/or act as a resource for other North Country teachers through the sharing of teaching knowledge and expertise

Serve on the Teaching Fellowship Advisory Committee for the following year

Report to the advisory committee on mentoring and resource work accomplished during the fellowship year

Eligibility
Any kindergarten through twelfth-grade public school teacher who works in New Hampshire’s North Country region (upper Grafton and Carroll counties and Coos County) is eligible to be nominated. Teachers in Coos County public schools are given preference.

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Evaluation criteria
In general, the selection committee uses the following criteria in evaluating a candidate:

Commitment to Public Education – The applicant’s commitment to serve public education in his or her school and community.

Breadth of Experience – The extent and nature of the applicant’s past and present public education service and commitment to continued professional learning.

Innovation in Education – The applicant’s ability to implement a creative and imaginative educational atmosphere for North Country students.

Creativity in Solving Problems – The applicant’s ability to bring ideas and inspire solutions to resolve educational challenges.
Communication Skills – The applicant’s ability to passionately articulate his or her educational vision, knowledge of content, and teaching methodology.
Inspiration – The applicant’s ability to challenge and mentor the current and next generation of educators and students in the North Country.

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Fellows

2008
Jeannine Fogg Brady of Lemington, VT – Canaan Memorial School, 3rd grade
Michael Brosnan of Shelburne, NH – Gorham High School, Chair of the Social Studies Department
Sharon Breeze Lane of Errol, NH – Errol School, k-4th grade
Ginette Lemay White of Pittsburg, NH – Colebrook High School, Comprehensive Business

2009
Richard Bond of Bloomfield, VT – Colebrook Academy, mathematics teacher and assistant principal
Judy Jacques of Colebrook – Canaan School, 1st grade
Lisa Perras of Groveton – White Mountains Regional High School, Business Education and Hospitality Management teacher and Director of Career and Technical Education

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How to Apply

Colleagues nominate candidates for this award.
Nominators are asked to download a nomination form and fill it out, including providing all contact information for the nominator and candidate.
Get two letters of support, each from a different person, in favor of the candidate.
Include a copy of a recent résumé, curriculum vitae, or biography of the candidate in the application packet.
If there are others who support the nomination, their comments and contact information may be sent along with the primary nomination form.
Applications must received by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, May 3, 2010. Send complete packet (nomination form, letters of support, and résumé) via mail or hand-deliver to:

Louise Tillotson Teaching Fellowship
New Hampshire Charitable Foundation
37 Pleasant Street
Concord, NH 03301-4005

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Selection process
A volunteer advisory committee and members of the Foundation staff review applications. A small number of finalists will be invited to a personal interview with the advisory committee. Interviews are scheduled in May. Final award decisions are made in June, and announced soon after.

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Questions?
For further information, please contact Peter Benson, senior program officer, by e-mail or 603-383-8180.

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