Washington Fellows will become full-time employees of the Department of Education in Washington, DC for the Fellowship year. Classroom Fellows will remain in their schools under their regular teaching contracts, and will be paid an hourly rate to perform Fellowship duties for the Department of Education for the Fellowship year.

Both the Washington Fellows and the Classroom Fellows will be subject to a security investigation once they have received federal appointments. The investigation will require the Fellows to complete several forms and be fingerprinted.

Washington Fellows will be responsible for securing living arrangements in Washington, DC for their Fellowship year. Department of Education employees will provide general guidance and assistance for this process, but will not be able to secure housing for the Washington Fellows.

The program is designed to run from the summer of 2008 through June 2009. Fellows will be employed by the US Department of Education through an Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) agreement. The IPA mobility program provides for the temporary assignment of skilled personnel to or from state and local governments and certain other organizations to facilitate cooperation between the Federal government and the non-Federal entity and provide mutual benefits, for limited periods without loss of employee rights and benefits. Should an unexpected discontinuation of the program occur, participants will be guaranteed the ability to return to their school district employer as a condition of their employer's participation in the program. Further information about the IPA program is available on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management website at: http://www.opm.gov/programs/ipa/assignF.asp and http://www.opm.gov/programs/ipa/Mobility.asp.

You must be a US citizen by the application receipt deadline of April 7, 2008, to be eligible for the program.

Yes; if you will have completed three years of teaching by the summer of 2008, you are eligible to apply.

As long as you have taught for at least three years, you are eligible. Your experience need not be three years in the same school, and it need not be three consecutive years. If you have taught in private schools for some period of time you are eligible to apply as long as you currently teach in a public school.

The program is open to K-12 public school teachers because this is the pilot year. Your previous teaching experience may be in public and private schools of all grades as long as you are currently serving as a K-12 public school teacher. We hope to be able to expand the program in the future. If you do not meet the criteria for these positions and are interested in other employment opportunities with the US Department of Education, you may visit http://www.ed.gov/about/jobs/open/edhires/ to learn more about Ed Hires and search current job openings.

The support of principals is important to foster collaboration at the school level and ensure open communication between participating teachers and their school leadership. We hope that principals will engage with their teacher Fellows throughout the year and share their perspectives with the Department.

Both the Classroom Fellowship and the Washington Fellowship vacancy postings include three components:

• OF-612/Resume — You may either submit your OF-612/resume via USA Jobs through the vacancy postings (hit Apply On-Line) OR via FAX to 202-401-7638 OR via e-mail at TeacherFellowship@ed.gov.
• Narrative Responses — Please submit this document (in a word document) via FAX to 202-401-7638 OR via e-mail at TeacherFellowship@ed.gov.
• Submission of a Principal Support Statement — Your principal must submit this document (in a word document) via FAX to 202-401-7638 OR via e-mail at TeacherFellowship@ed.gov. All information MUST be received by the closing date on the announcement. Please see the Applicant Info and Application Instructions sections of the program web site for more details about the application process, including instructions and a link to the vacancy postings.

Responses may not exceed 1,000 words per answer.

Your current principal must address how your school will benefit from your participation as a Teaching Ambassador Fellow, as well as whether your school district will support your participation in the Fellowship for the 2008-2009 school year through the Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) agreement. Your former principal may address the more personal questions about your performance and leadership roles. If you request statements from two principals, you must ensure that all of the required elements are addressed between the two statements (please see http://www.ed.gov/programs/
teacherfellowship/applicationinstructions.html for more details). Both principals must send their responses (in a word document) via FAX to 202-401-7638 or via e-mail at TeacherFellowship@ed.gov by the closing date on the announcement.

Washington Fellows and Classroom Fellows will be announced by summer 2008.

Washington Fellows will be assigned to appropriate positions within the Department depending on their background and interests. They may work in more than one program office, contributing expertise and assisting on specific projects or policy matters. Washington Fellows will also work closely with Classroom Fellows. Throughout the year, all Fellows will participate in activities designed to increase their knowledge and understanding of Federal education policy and program management. Fellows will meet for discussions and sessions to explore and share strategies around needs and best practices in public education. They will also work on a collaborative project to strengthen the Department's teacher outreach.

Through the employment agreement for the Fellowship, Washington Fellows will be able to return to their school districts and continue teaching. We hope all Fellows will continue their outstanding classroom teaching practices, and will engage with the Department and others as active leaders in their communities.

For questions about the Fellowship:
Jocelyn Pickford
Teaching Ambassador Fellowship
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202-8173
TeacherFellowship@ed.gov
Phone: 202-708-5772

For questions about the application:
Desi Avila
Phone: 202-205-4288
Fax: 202-401-7638
TeacherFellowship@ed.gov