The Innovative Technology Education Fund (ITEF) awarded $242,000 to 25 local schools and districts
St. Louis, MO. – The Innovative Technology Education Fund (ITEF) awarded $242,000 to 25 local schools and districts through self-selected professional development experiences. Lean into Learning fuels the professional development of educators who seek to attend local or national conferences, visit schools in other states, bring subject matter experts to their campuses, or design customized learning experiences to strengthen classroom impact.
ITEF is again title sponsor for Hancock Place School District’s 2026 AI Educator Summit, a conference that garnered national attention in its inaugural year in 2025. ITEF is also partnering with the St. Louis Community Foundation’s Center for Education Leadership to support its School Leaders Retreat through a $25,000 grant benefiting ten participating school principals.
“ITEF remains committed to supporting innovative and effective educational practices, and we recognize that strong educator training and development are essential to that work. We’re proud to help close gaps in professional development funding and are especially excited about new partnerships that allow us to support and strengthen homegrown learning initiatives.” - Michele Mosley, ITEF CEO.
The Innovative Technology Education Fund (ITEF) is a St. Louis-based, charitable, nonprofit, private 501 (c)(3) foundation that supports innovation in education by funding advanced technology in the classrooms of public, private, parochial and charter schools in the greater St. Louis area. In addition, we provide opportunities for educators to continue to grow and learn in their field. Our work is supported through the FCC license we hold for four Educational Broadband channels in St. Louis, Missouri.
The next Lean into Learning grant cycle opens May 1, 2027. We encourage interested educators to check Innovteched.com ahead of next year’s due date for updates to the grant cycle.
Congratulations to our 2026 Lean into Learning Professional Development Recipients who hail from the following schools/districts:
Affton School District
Alton School District
Bayless School District
City Academy
Confluence Preparatory Academy
Crossroads College Preparatory School
East St. Louis School District 189
Ferguson-Florissant School District*
Hancock Place School District
Hazelwood School District*
Kirkwood School District
Lindbergh School District
Maplewood-Richmond Heights School District*
Mehlville School District
Miriam School and Learning Center
Momentum Academy*
Notre Dame High School
Pattonville School District
Ritenour School District
St. Francis of Assisi School
St. Louis Public School District*
School District of University City*
The Soulard School*
Valley Park School District
Webster Groves School District
*St. Louis Community Foundation (STLCF) Center for Education Leadership School Leaders Retreat participants. School principals receive funds directly from STLCF.
Adobe Max
AI Educator Summit 2026
AI Training
AP Annual Conference
Art and Science of Teacher Coaching
John Belgeri with TeamOptix
Steven Bollar, Educational Thought Leader
Brent Catlett, Apple Education Engineer
Holly Clark, Teaching Meets AI
Ron Clark Academy
Elevate Conscious Discipline
The Equity Exchange
ISACS New Teacher Institute
Institute for School Partnership, Washington University
Institute for Self-Directed Learning Consulting
Learning Forward
National Arts Integration & STEAM Conference
National Association of Gifted Children
National Council for Teachers of English
National Science Teaching Association
Kari Raiano, Aimsweb Training
The Story of Black Education in St. Louis
Etoya R. White Therapy & Coaching
School Leaders Retreat
SXSW Education Conference
Texas Computer Education Association Convention
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