(INDIANAPOLIS) – Three scholarship and stipend opportunities for student teachers are open for the 2021-22 school year, according to the Indiana Commission for Higher Education. Funding is available for Black and Hispanic/Latino student teachers, as well as those who plan to teach in high-need fields, such as math, science or special education.
Scholarship:
- William A. Crawford Minority Teacher Scholarship: Open to minority students (defined as Black or Hispanic/Latino individuals) who intend to pursue or are currently pursuing a course of study that would enable them to teach in an accredited Indiana school. Application deadline: August 31, 2021.
Stipends:
- Earline S. Rogers Student Teaching Stipend for Minorities: This stipend is available for minority students (defined as Black or Hispanic/Latino individuals) who plan to participate in student teaching or a school administration internship as part of their degree requirements during the semester they receive the stipend. Priority will be given to student teaching applicants. Application deadline: September 30, 2021.
- Student Teaching Stipend for High-Need Fields: The Student Teaching Stipend for High-Need Fields is available for students who plan to teach special education (any grade), middle school math, middle school science, high school math or high school science. Application deadline: September 30, 2021.
Students who receive the scholarship/stipends agree to apply for teaching positions at an accredited school in Indiana and, if hired, teach in the state for at least three years.
Apply through ScholarTrack. For instructions on how to apply, and for a full list of eligibility requirements visit learnmoreindiana.org/futureteacher.
The Commission has been focused on increasing diversity in the educator pipeline, specifically calling out various strategies to do so in its fourth strategic plan, Reaching Higher in a State of Change, including ensuring more people of color utilize state scholarship funding and increasing the number of minority students enrolling and completing Educator Preparation Programs.
Black or Hispanic/Latino educators made up 6.4 percent of the 2020-21 Indiana educator staff. Our most recent data show a slightly larger percentage of minority educators in the current pipeline, but still fewer than 15 percent of educators graduating from college are students of color.
“In the past 10 years, Hoosier students have become increasingly diverse with 29 percent of 2019 high school graduates being non-White,” said Indiana Commissioner for Higher Education Teresa Lubbers. “We must develop a strong, diverse teacher pipeline that better reflects the demographic composition of the student body. That is vital to our work of closing the achievement gap with minority students.”
Visit www.scholartrack.in.gov to apply for the scholarship and stipends or call the Commission’s Financial Aid Support Center at (888) 528-4719 for assistance.
