Zeile Family
Faculty Summer Fellowship
Established by Karl and Dian Zeile, this endowment funds meaningful professional development for Oaks Christian faculty, expanding subject-matter expertise, enriching pedagogy, and ensuring that every OCS student learns from a teacher who is growing professionally.
Great teaching begins with a teacher who never stops learning.
The Zeile Family Faculty Summer Fellowship Endowment was created with a singular conviction that investing in our teachers is one of the most powerful ways to invest in our students. When a faculty member returns from an immersive experience transformed, every student they teach in the years ahead benefits.
What the Fellowship Funds
TK-12 Faculty
Professional Conferences
Faculty attend leading academic and pedagogical conferences to stay at the frontier of their discipline and bring new thinking back to the classroom.
Educational Travel
Site-based and cultural immersion experiences that connect subject matter to the living world — enriching how teachers teach and how students learn.
Experiential Learning
Hands-on programs directly aligned with a faculty member's curriculum, deepening subject-matter expertise and expanding instructional range,
Curriculum Development
Recipients integrate their experiences into OCS's academic program, contributing to the ongoing development of curriculum and instructional practices.
Fellowship Details
Award Amount
Individual fellowship awards shall not exceed $5,000 per recipient. The annual distribution from the endowment shall not exceed 5% of its market value, ensuring the principal endures in perpetuity.
Eligibility
The fellowship is open exclusively to full-time classroom teaching faculty serving in grades TK–12 at Oaks Christian. Faculty who receive an award are not eligible in consecutive academic year
Selection
The selection committee includes the elementary, middle, and high school principals, plus a representative appointed by the head of school. The Zeile family may observe in a non-voting advisory capacity.
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Application and Selection
- Faculty submit a proposal describing the opportunity.
- Itinerary, itemized budget, and funding request are included.
- Anticipated impact on teaching, learning, and curriculum outlined.
- The Selection Committee reviews applications.
Recipients Give Back
Recipients will produce a substantive post-experience summary, implement applicable insights in their classroom instruction, and present their experience and outcomes to faculty. This ensures the impact of each fellowship radiates beyond a single teacher and enriches the entire faculty.
Support the Zeile Fellowship.
Invest in every student they teach.
A gift to the Zeile Family Faculty Summer Fellowship Endowment is invested permanently — only the earnings are spent each year, meaning your generosity compounds across every generation of Oaks Christian students. Contact our advancement office to make a gift or learn how to establish your own named endowment.