MSU’s College of Education is drafting a proposal to receive part of a $16.7 million grant that encourages graduates to become teachers in urban schools.
The grant, announced by Gov. Jennifer Granholm last week, aims to overhaul training for math and science teachers in Michigan and encourage teachers to work in struggling urban schools. The W.K. Kellogg Foundation Woodrow Wilson Michigan Teaching Fellowship will choose six Michigan colleges as partners in the fellowship.
Suzanne Wilson, MSU’s chairwoman of the Department of Teacher Education, said this program might encourage graduates looking for a career change to consider education.
“We are proposing that we would work with fellows that have some life experience,” Wilson said. “It might be relevant to people that have already graduated from Michigan State that didn’t think about teaching.”
Wilson said the College of Education wanted to propose a program that would complement MSU’s current undergraduate education program and serve a different student population.
The foundation also will select 240 students to receive a paid master’s degree in teaching if they agree to teach three years in urban areas.
“This fellowship will be transformational not only for teachers and students, but also for the Michigan universities that will educate the new math and science teachers,” Granholm said in a statement.
The colleges have not been selected and will be named in January, said Liz Boyd, a spokeswoman for Granholm.
To be considered, universities must produce a high proportion of the state’s math and science teachers, be willing to rethink math and science programs, commit some matching funds to these programs and demonstrate partnerships with local schools, said Beverly Sanford, a spokeswoman for the Woodrow Wilson Foundation.
The fellows will receive a $30,000 stipend to complete a master’s program, Boyd said.
Urban schools have trouble retaining new teachers because the teachers might not feel prepared for the schools’ challenges, said Ed Sarpolus, director of governmental affairs at the Michigan Education Association.
“It’s challenging to work in an environment you aren’t used to because of language and cultural barriers,” he said. “A lot of times, these students in urban schools need a lot more attention.”
The master’s incentive of this program would appeal to the young teachers needed to revitalize urban schools, education junior Rachel Stewart said.
“A lot of qualified teachers choose to stray away form inner city schools,” Stewart said. “But those teachers are needed in inner city schools because those students need the most help.”
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