Begin your journey to personal refreshment and professional renewal. Lace up your walking shoes, peer through a telescope, dip your paintbrush, listen to the music, or slow down to smell (and perhaps study) the roses. The TIME Fellowship program offers Sarasota County Schools educators time to reconnect with their love of teaching.
Margie and Chuck Barancik loved and admired the children and teachers in our community. Thanks to Margie’s teaching career, they also understood the crucial role that a motivated and highly effective teacher plays in a child’s academic success.
To honor Margie’s legacy, we created Time to Inspire Margie’s Educators (TIME), a fellowship program for educators in the Sarasota County school district. This initiative annually awards 25 fellowships of up to $12,000 each for experiences designed to reinvigorate educators’ dedication to their students and commitment to the art of teaching. Since 2022, 100 teachers, assistant principals, and principals have received TIME Fellowships in Margie’s memory. (Go here to read project summaries for our 2025 TIME Fellows.)
Whether you are submitting a proposal individually or as part of a group, here are a few things to consider as you get started:
(click here for PDF version)
The 2026 TIME Fellowship program is open to currently employed, full-time instructional staff, assistant principals, and principals within Sarasota County Schools (SCS) pre-K to 12 traditional public schools who meet the following criteria:
Currently, charter, private, and virtual schools and classified staff are not eligible to apply.
Based on helpful feedback, a modification has been made to the required endorsement of proposals by principals/supervisors. Rather than submit a signed letter of recommendation, the applicant’s principal or district supervisor (if applicant is a principal) will be asked to complete a simple certification of the applicant’s employment standing and capacity to complete the fellowship. This change is intended to simplify the application process and reduce the burden on applicants and their supervisors. Signed letters of recommendation from school-district colleagues remain optional.
Yes, group projects may be submitted. Each applicant should submit an individual application but be sure to use the same proposal title.
Yes, couples in which both parties are qualified Sarasota County Schools educators are eligible to apply for the TIME Fellowship. However, each individual must submit a separate application, even if they plan to collaborate on a joint project. If both individuals are selected as fellows, each will receive their own fellowship award up to $12,000.
Yes, as long as the fellowship does not exceed the budget.
Yes, there is no limit to how frequently you may apply if you did not previously receive a fellowship. We welcome and encourage return applicants.
If you received a fellowship in the past, you must wait five years to reapply.
No, simply log into the application portal using your previous user ID, which should be your email. If you forgot your password, click “Forgot your Password?” This will prevent the creation of a duplicate profile.
No. Your recommendation(s) must be from a colleague who works within Sarasota County Schools.
Yes, selected participants will be issued a 1099 tax form for all funds they receive.
Typically, 1099s are mailed in January, in the calendar year following the year you received your payment. For example, if your fellowship payment is made in 2025, you will receive a 1099 in January 2026.
No. Once award decisions are made, all payments are final based on your requested budget.
If you are making inconsequential or immaterial changes, you do not need approval. If changes will significantly alter your proposed project or its timeline for completion, please let us know by emailing [email protected].
Email [email protected] and we will reset your eligibility quiz so you are able to retake it.
