Brownieland Partners with Teach On Project to Celebrate their Legacy of Lifting Up Excellent Educators

Since 2013, Brownieland is proud to have partnered with Teach On Project, producing videos that showcase outstanding public school educators. We are honored to work with an organization that provides resources, grant funding, and support for metro Atlanta public school teachers and leaders. 

However, with the strain of the COVID-19 pandemic, Teach On Project is having to take a pause to reinvent the organization in a way that can best help elevate excellent educators throughout metro Atlanta.

As so many individuals and foundation funders had to turn their attention to immediate needs during the COVID-19 pandemic, the priority to honor and celebrate the best of the best in our public schools was put on the back burner. As we, hopefully, emerge from the pandemic this coming school year, the leaders at TOP will focus on reinventing ourselves in a way that best serves educators in our city. With our funding at an all-time low, we are looking for new ways to fundraise and new funding sources. After almost two years of learning loss for some students, public school educators remain on the front line of recovery and supporting our children to regain what learning they have lost. Now more than ever, we must focus on honoring, supporting, and retaining our best educators! – Katie Post, Executive Director & Co-founder, Teach On Project

Teach On Project (TOP) is a metro Atlanta nonprofit with a mission to make a positive impact on student success by investing in, energizing, and retaining excellent educators. As stated on their website, TOP believes that excellent educators are critical in ensuring strong academic outcomes for students. Educators’ impact and achievements go largely unrecognized, and many educators are not fully empowered to support their students. Through recognition, empowerment, and financial support, excellent educators can multiply the impact of their efforts and elevate the quality of public education in Metro Atlanta. 

Recently we produced a video to help celebrate the legacy of Teach On Project and honor the amazing educators that have made a difference in thousands of student’s lives.

When Brownieland first began working with Teach On Project, the organization went by its former name, Atlanta Families’ Awards for Excellence in Education (AFAEE), and recognized educators only in the Atlanta Public School District. However, in 2015, AFAEE expanded its impact to include five districts in metro Atlanta: Atlanta Public Schools, Cobb County Schools, DeKalb County Schools, Fulton County Schools, and Gwinnett County Public Schools. In 2019, AFAEE changed its name to Teach On Project (TOP). The new name recaptured who they have always been: an organization dedicated to retaining the best educators in metro Atlanta’s public schools. Even though the name changed, what remains is this incredible organization’s mission to elevate the quality of public education by identifying excellent educators and empowering them to expand their impact. 

Since 2006, Teach On Project has granted over 152 educators! TOP’s merit-based awards program has a rigorous application process designed to identify educators who demonstrate increases in student achievement, enhance student self-esteem, and collaborate with community stakeholders. Nominees are asked to outline a project they would like funded to help them make a more significant impact in their classrooms or schools. All awarded projects must be strategically designed to positively impact student achievement, self-esteem, and collaboration. Brownieland had the opportunity to catch up with seven past Teach On Project winners and find out how the awards have changed their lives. 

All of us at Brownieland wish Teach On Project the very best, and we look forward to future endeavors from this wonderful organization!