ABOUT THE HOST SCHOOL CRITICAL LANGUAGES DEVELOPMENT ALLOWANCE

As part of the Teachers of Critical Languages Program (TCLP), alumni U.S. host school representatives and exchange teacher alumni who currently work in a K-12 school in the U.S. are encouraged to apply for an allowance of up to $1,500 per U.S. host school to enhance critical language programs in U.S. host schools and districts by furthering the teaching of Arabic or Mandarin.

TCLP will issue Host School Critical Language Development Allowance funds in three categories. Please see descriptions and examples for each category below:

ALLOWED CATEGORIES: 

1. Host School Alumni Language Materials Allowance: U.S. host schools may spend the allowance on textbooks or digital materials that will support Mandarin or Arabic language teaching in the classroom. For example:

  •  Interactive language app subscriptions
  • Library of age-appropriate books for learning Arabic or Mandarin as a Foreign Language
  • Textbook or workbook materials
  • Digital classroom textbooks or materials
  • Curricula for teaching Arabic or Mandarin as a Foreign Language

2. Host School Alumni Professional Development Allowance: U.S. host schools may fund a current Mandarin or Arabic teacher’s professional development, such as attending a conference or training course, to help support and sustain their current language program.

3. Host School Capacity-Building Allowance: U.S. host schools may spend the allowance on a project or series of activities they would like to conduct to advertise or boost their program visibility to the community and the district, with the ultimate goal of increasing capacity and sustainability.

  •  A "speaker series" of current students or teachers talking to younger grades or community members and teaching different cultural activities.
  • Participating in or organizing a school-wide celebration to increase visibility of their Arabic or Mandarin program.
  •  Advertising the program to potential students to increase enrollment, using a known or effective means of advertising.
  • Establishing connections between other TCLP U.S. host schools for exchanges of best practices in teaching Arabic or Mandarin as a Foreign Language. This includes but is not limited to language Olympiads or student visits to each other’s schools. If in-person travel for students to a TCLP alumni U.S. host school is needed, please consider applying to the competitively issued TCLP Critical Language Project (CLP) grants for up to an additional $3000 of funds. *
  • Establishing sister-school relations with their exchange teacher's home school in China, Egypt, Morocco, or Taiwan. If in-person travel to the TCLP exchange teacher’s home region is needed, please consider applying to the competitively issued TCLP Critical Language Project (CLP) grants for up to an additional $3000 of funds. *

* Please be advised that there is no guarantee that you will be awarded both a CLP grant and Host School Critical Languages Development Allowance.

PROJECT PROVISIONS:

  • Projects must be implemented in the U.S. or in the home region of international alumni if the project is related to establishing sister-school relationships.
  • Allowance funds must be spent on items directly related to teaching and learning the Arabic or Mandarin languages in the U.S. The allowance amount requested may be spent as soon as Terms and Conditions are signed.
  •  Allowance funds must be expended prior to August 1, 2025.
  • Final reports are due within one month of the end date of all activities and expenditures, and no later than August 30, 2025.
  • Allowance requests may not exceed $1,500.
  • Allowance funds may cover travel costs, including domestic tickets, ground transportation, per diem, and hotel costs.
  • Allowance funds may not be used for international airline tickets. You may apply to a CLP grant for additional funds that allow international travel.
  • Allowance funds may not be used for office equipment purchases (e.g., computers, Xerox, printers, etc.), devices that can be used for commercial entertainment (e.g., tablets, iPods, etc.), or building/construction materials.
  • TCLP alumni exchange teachers and mentor teachers may not receive salaries or honoraria.
  • Allowance funds may not be used to support costs associated with substitute teachers.
  • Applicants may be asked to make changes to their proposed budget prior to final approval of the funds.

APPLICATION ELIGIBILITY:

  • Applications may be submitted by: TCLP U.S. host school and district alumni and exchange teacher alumni who currently work in a U.S. K-12 school.
  • Schools are not eligible to receive more than a total of $4500 per calendar year as recipients of CLP grants and the Host School Critical Languages Development Allowance.
    • Submitting separate proposed projects from both sources of funding that duplicate project activities or spending may make overlapping applications ineligible.
  • Proposed projects must be implemented in U.S. schools and districts that have hosted an exchange teacher through TCLP or in a U.S. school that currently hosts a TCLP exchange teacher alumnus/a.
  • Applicants must submit a complete application packet through Dropbox. The application packet should include:
    • a complete application form;
    • a budget and budget narrative;
    • a timeline of proposed activities;
    • as necessary, support letters from participating schools and proposed partners.

Please inform American Councils about your intention to apply for the Host School Critical Languages Development Allowance by sending an email to at TCLP@americancouncils.org to receive your Dropbox link for application packet upload.

Applications not meeting these technical eligibility requirements will not be considered for the Host School Critical Language Development Allowance.

FINANCIAL PROVISIONS:

  • Host School Critical Language Development Allowance funds will be disbursed to the applicants within one month after the application deadline, conditional upon project approval.
  • Grant recipients will receive 90% of the award amount when the grant is approved, and the remaining 10% will be transferred following the completion of the project and the submission of the final project report.

 

REPORTS AND PUBLICATIONS:

Within one month of the project completion, award recipients must submit a report. The report should contain the allowance amount that was used, complete project activity descriptions including any lessons learned, images and/or videos, and results/impact based on qualitative and/or quantitative measures of project objectives. Any materials published with funds from the Host School Critical Languages Development Allowance must be included in the final report and should carry the following acknowledgment:

Support for this project was provided by the Teachers of Critical Languages Program’s Host School Critical Language Development Allowance. The program is sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State (ECA) and is implemented by American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS. ECA and American Councils are not responsible for the views expressed herein.

 

TIMELINES FOR APPLICATIONS:

Application Deadline: February 21, 2025

Recipients Announced: Early March 2025

Project Completion Deadline: August 1, 2025, at the latest

Final Report Due: One month after project completion

 

APPLICATION SUBMISSION:

All application materials should be submitted via Dropbox. Please email TCLP@americancouncils.org to receive the Dropbox link to upload your application materials electronically.

For Further Information: Please write to American Councils staff at TCLP@americancouncils.org or call at +1 (202) 833-7522.