Vol. 40, No. 23
CONTACT: JIM MORRIS |
June 8, 2006
240 Prospective Teachers Earn State Scholarships
Two hundred forty outstanding Missouri students who want to be schoolteachers have earned $2,000 scholarships to help them with their college expenses, state education officials announced today.
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has notified 240 recent high school graduates and college students that they have been selected to receive the Missouri Teacher Education Scholarship for the 2006-07 academic year.
Established by state law in 1985, the scholarship program is intended to encourage talented students to pursue teaching careers in Missouri public schools. The state provides $1,000 for each scholarship; colleges and universities provide a matching amount for each student they enroll.
To be eligible for the one-time scholarship, students must rank in the top 15 percent of their high school class or score in the top 15 percent on the ACT or SAT exam. Applicants must attend a four-year teacher-education institution in Missouri and must agree to teach in a Missouri public school for five years after graduation.
More than 300 students applied for the scholarships this year. A committee appointed by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education reviewed all the applications and selected the winners.
More than half of this year’s 240 scholarship winners are recent high school graduates. The remaining recipients are college freshmen and sophomores or adults returning to college.
For more information, contact: Rosalyn Wieberg, assistant director of teacher recruitment and retention, at 573-751-1668.