The pandemic was the last straw for some educators, and they walked away from the classroom. Before the pandemic, teachers across the country were leaving the profession for a variety of reasons such as teacher pay, school culture, and workload. To ensure vacancies are filled, it is important to have a steady stream of people willing to enter the profession. To help with this issue as well as lower the financial burden, Indiana has the Next Generation Hoosier Educators Scholarship.
This scholarship is open to 200 high school and college students. The candidate must be high-achieving and agree to teach for five years at an eligible Indiana school. The renewable scholarship offers up to $7,500 for each school year. If the recipient does not teach in an eligible school, the scholarship must be repaid.
Not only does this scholarship remove a financial barrier, but it is designed to help retain the educator in an Indiana school for at least five years. Not only is recruitment to the profession an issue, but also retention is a pressing concern.
The other requirements are:
- Must be an Indiana resident;
- Must be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen;
- Must be a current high school senior or college student in Indiana;
- Must have graduated or will graduate from an Indiana accredited high school or non-accredited nonpublic high school;
- Must be able to utilize the scholarship for at least two full academic years;
- Must rank in the top 20% of high school graduating class or have a top 20% ACT or SAT score;
- Must currently attend or plan to attend an eligible Indiana institution as a full-time student;
- Must pursue or intend to pursue a course of study that would enable the student to teach at an eligible Indiana school after college graduation;
- Must obtain a license to teach in Indiana and serve as a teacher in an Eligible Indiana School for five consecutive years after college graduation;
- Must maintain a 3.0/4.0 GPA, complete 30 credit hours per year or their equivalent and meet all other requirements established by their program to renew the scholarship;
- Must file a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) each year;
- Must not be in overpayment or default on a federal student loan or grant; and
- Must complete the service requirement or have all funds provided converted to a loan that must be repaid.
The deadline to apply in ScholarTrack is January 31, 2021.