The Alaska College of Education Consortium (ACEC), encompassing the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA), University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF), and University of Alaska Southeast (UAS), has officially announced its second year of its Teacher Internship Scholarship Program.
According to Monique Musick, the Manager of Communications and Marketing at the University of Alaska, this scholarship is extremely beneficial to any education student because it helps them focus on their T. A program, without having to worry as much for their cost of living.
“And the biggest thing is that if you’re going to complete a full-time internship, you can’t really work even part time. And so, recognizing that committing to that year of training makes it hard for people to finish that full time internship here,” said Musick.
The recipients who are awarded this scholarship not only get up to the $10,000 stipend but are also eligible for full tuition support during their final full-time internship year. Graduate students who are enrolled in an initial licensure program are also eligible for tuition support and a $10,000 living stipend.
And from what the data shows, Musick says that this scholarship made quite a difference for many students.
“This scholarship has allowed me not to work during my student teaching semesters which provides me with time to focus so much more on the classroom. I don’t know what I would’ve done without it,” said Jubilee Carroll, a BA Elementary Senior 23-24.
Carroll wasn’t the only person who benefited from this scholarship though.
“Last year was the first year and we were able to give out $1.3 million to 75 different teacher candidates. And so those are all students that were in their final 30 to 60 credits of getting their teacher licensure,” says Musick.
The main reason for creating this scholarship in the first place is to ensure that students can succeed. Student teachers must complete their internships, but when financial obstacles get in the way, it makes it difficult to complete their last two years.
“That internship is really quite critical for getting them that experience in the classroom and there are other avenues of getting, you know, emergency or other ways that you can get into the classroom. But the data all shows that finishing a yearlong internship improves retention and improves their preparation. It just improves,” said Musick.
For scholarship and application questions please contact Bridget Weiss, Liaison to the Alaska Colleges of Education Consortium (ACEC), bweiss6@alaska.edu.