Applications for teacher aid programs open Oct. 31

State Rep. Mark Tisdel encouraged aspiring teachers to apply for financial assistance available under two different initiatives he helped create in the bipartisan school aid budget earlier this year.

The MI Future Educator Fellowship Program will provide Michigan college students studying to be teachers up to $10,000 per year, and the MI Future Educator Student Teacher Stipend Program will offer up to $9,600 for a semester of student teaching. Interested students may apply beginning Monday, Oct. 31.

“A shortage of teachers has inhibited education in Michigan,” said Tisdel, R-Rochester Hills. “Through our bipartisan school aid budget, my colleagues and I worked to tackle this shortage by attracting more people into teaching careers. Financial resources will help put future teachers through college and place them in Michigan classrooms. Our state’s investment in educators is also an investment in the future of our K-12 students.”

The MI Future Educator Fellowship Program will award Michigan college students preparing to become certified teachers up to $10,000 a year, renewable for up to three years, with the stipulation that the recipient will teach for at least three to five years in a Michigan school or preschool after certification. To be eligible, a student must start a teacher education program in fall 2022 or later and maintain a GPA of at least 3.0. A recipient who fails to meet the requirements will owe the state back within 10 years as if the aid were an interest-free loan.

Under the MI Future Educator Student Teacher Stipend Program, a Michigan college student working toward teacher certification may be eligible for a $9,600 stipend for a semester spent student teaching — critical classroom experience for prospective educators. Student teachers could use the stipend to pay for tuition, living expenses, child care, or other necessary costs.

Tisdel, fellow legislators, and the governor approved the record-high $19.6 billion bipartisan school aid budget in July. The plan allocated $25 million for the MI Future Educator Fellowship Program and $50 million for the MI Future Educator Student Teacher Stipend Program.

Potential applicants can learn more about the fellowship program here and about student teacher stipends here.

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