Grant Programs for Student Teachers
Teaching, One of the Most Important Job Positions
Never has there been a more critical time to emphasize the dwindling resources of qualified teachers everywhere in the United States.
New energy has been built up to find ways to train and keep new and existing teachers in the public school system.
Our public education system has taken some hard blows over the last decade or so and the rights and authority of teachers has been undermined again and again.
Now the number of high-need schools has blossomed and, sadly, teachers are among some of the lowest paid, well educated employees in the United States.
Grants for Teachers in High-Need Areas
The U.S. Department of Education has recently disbursed 20 sizeable chunks of grant money - all of which total nearly 10 million dollars - as part of their Transition to Teaching program. The 20 grants have been awarded to a variety of educational institutions, for profit and not for profit, which will use the monies as incentives for student teachers. Student teachers already in mid-degree and other students in non-teaching specialties are being wooed by the grant monies to turn their teaching sights on high-need school districts, in exchange for stipends.
The Transition to Teaching program goals are twofold - to generate interest and vigorous educational support for high-need or low-income areas both rural and urban; and to assist young teachers with appropriate funds for their education. Student teachers who accept the grant must commit to signing contracts that bind them to positions within high-need areas for an agreed upon amount of time.
The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) maintains a lengthy database of student teacher grants and scholarships. The organization's Loan Forgiveness and Teacher Scholarship list includes:
- Federal Loan Forgiveness programs - various ways in which student teachers and existing teachers may qualify to have federal student loans cancelled. IN many cases teachers are required to teach within high-need areas for a specified amount of time.
- Private Funds- the Rockefeller Brothers Fund- Fellowships for Aspiring Teachers of Color awards grants to minority, undergraduate student teachers who require funds to pursue a Masters degree. Student teachers awarded the grant are required to teach in a public school system while completing their Masters degree, as well as be enrolled in a high-quality teaching program.
- State-Specific Grants - nearly every state features some sort of teaching grant or scholarship. Many underscore the serious needs in low-income areas of the country.
