SMU, UNT Dallas Among Universities Receiving Part of $50M for Aspiring Teachers

Southern Methodist University and University of North Texas at Dallas are among 10 universities in the state getting a piece of $50 million in scholarship funds for students looking to blossom into qualified teachers.

“North Texas has an enormous talent pool in its young adults, but many of them face financial and other obstacles if they want to pursue careers as teachers,” said Paige Ware, Interim Dean of the Simmons School of Education and Human Development at SMU, in a release.

“North Texas has an enormous talent pool in its young adults, but many of them face financial and other obstacles if they want to pursue careers as teachers.”
Paige Ware

Starting in Fall 2018, aspiring teachers will be eligible to apply for scholarships and preparation from The Raise Your Hand Texas Foundation’s Raising Texas Teachers program.

In addition to scholarship funds, the program announced Monday will focus on vigorously training students to step into classrooms fully prepared and qualified.

There also will be mentorship opportunities with current public school educators and teacher preparation programs will receive technical assistance to boost their programs.

“Too often, teachers are asked to learn on the job with too little formal training in the practice of teaching,” said Alison Badgett, executive director of Raise Your Hand Texas, in a release. “We wouldn’t ask a pilot to learn on the job, nor a doctor without close supervision from an expert practitioner. The profession of teaching, and the education of our children, is no less important,”

The $50 million will be disbursed over the next 10 years to the selected universities with each one receiving about $5 million. All schools were selected through a competitive RFP process, according to a release.

“We wouldn’t ask a pilot to learn on the job, nor a doctor without close supervision from an expert practitioner. The profession of teaching, and the education of our children, is no less important.”
Alison Badgett

The program funding comes as part of H-E-B Chairman and CEO Charles Butt’s commitment to elevating public education in the state. The $8,000 Charles Butt Scholarship for Aspiring Teachers will be given to each of the Raising Texas Teachers’ fellows.

“This scholarship is going to feed into our Master of Education with Certification,” SMU Professor Amy Ferrell told Dallas Innovates. “It’s going to bring that price down for students to only $8,000 for the full two-year program.”

“We’re hoping that [Raising Texas Teachers] will increase the pipeline, and increase the number of teachers going into the system. That’s absolutely always what we want.”

Over the next four years at UNT Dallas, the funding will enable the university to support 20 full scholarships for two cycles of transfer students in its Emerging Teacher Institute, according to university president, Bob Mong, in a release.

Raising Texas Teachers sites: Click image for a full-size view. [Courtesy of RTT]

“Being selected as one of just 10 universities in Texas to be honored by Charles Butt and Raise Your Hand Texas is really a historic milestone for our young university, as we work to fulfill our mission to empower students, transform lives, and strengthen communities,” Mong said.

Other Texas universities selected for the program include Our Lady of the Lake, Rice University, Texas A&M University, Texas Tech University, Trinity University, University of Houston, the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley.