Fully-Funded Teacher Preparation Programs?

[The Penguin and Podiatrist]

Hello! Does anyone know of any Master's Programs and/or Teacher Prep (leading to licensure) programs that are fully funded? By that I mean in exchange for being a teaching assistant one is given a full tuition waiver, health insurance, and a stipend to attend school an get a degree?

I have a Master's degree in the subject I'd like to teach and I've been trying to find alternative licensure programs/ Master's Programs in Education, but I haven't been able to find many. I figured this information might be useful to a lot of people.

Thank you! 

[Teachk5]

What state are you trying to get licensed in?

[francienolan]

The short answer is: I highly doubt there are any programs like that in the US in any states.

The longer answer:  
Like the previous poster asked - it also might depend on what state you are in and what the state offers. 
the federal govt offers the TEACH grant which gets you funding if you agree to teach for four years in a pre-approved low income school/district. You do have to be very careful though to follow all of their steps because they will deny reimbursement of your paperwork isn’t perfect (so I’ve heard). 
In most states you can pay for a licensure program that will allow you to teach the subject you want. And you said you already have a masters in your area of expertise, so I would go the licensure route and not pay for another masters. But those aren’t free either, and definitely don’t give you health insurance. 
However, some districts will allow you to be “emergency licensed” which means you apply to teach science (as an example) and prove to them you have the masters (aka, you’re qualified to teach science) and then you have a full time job (with benefits obviously) while you attend the state’s or local university’s online or in person licensure program to become fully licensed as a teacher (ie, by the end of the school year you become fully licensed instead of "emergency licensed"). 

 

Thats the best answer I've got! 

Truly, its expensive to become a teacher and then once you are a teacher, you don't get much pay… 

[The Penguin and Podiatrist]

12 hours ago, Teachk5 said:

What state are you trying to get licensed in?

I would like to teach in Oregon, Washington, California, or Colorado, but I know if I get licensed in one state that I can get reciprocity in another state. I am currently teaching abroad, so I have a lot of flexibility with where I would move to after my contract here is complete. 

11 hours ago, francienolan said:

The short answer is: I highly doubt there are any programs like that in the US in any states.

The longer answer:  
Like the previous poster asked - it also might depend on what state you are in and what the state offers. 
the federal govt offers the TEACH grant which gets you funding if you agree to teach for four years in a pre-approved low income school/district. You do have to be very careful though to follow all of their steps because they will deny reimbursement of your paperwork isn’t perfect (so I’ve heard). 
In most states you can pay for a licensure program that will allow you to teach the subject you want. And you said you already have a masters in your area of expertise, so I would go the licensure route and not pay for another masters. But those aren’t free either, and definitely don’t give you health insurance. 
However, some districts will allow you to be “emergency licensed” which means you apply to teach science (as an example) and prove to them you have the masters (aka, you’re qualified to teach science) and then you have a full time job (with benefits obviously) while you attend the state’s or local university’s online or in person licensure program to become fully licensed as a teacher (ie, by the end of the school year you become fully licensed instead of "emergency licensed"). 

 

Thats the best answer I've got! 

Truly, its expensive to become a teacher and then once you are a teacher, you don't get much pay… 

Haha, that's what I feared! My master's degree was fully funded, so I was thinking maybe because states seem so desperate for teachers that they would have apprenticeship type programs for people to work while they become teachers (but don't have to be hired before joining the program--- I've tried applying for jobs without a license and most of the jobs rejected me stating they require a license before you apply). I found one such apprenticeship program in Colorado that I am going to be applying to (I'm really impressed with the program) and I know that some places like the University of Washington have such programs where they essentially pay you while you get your degree, but those programs I've found at universities are usually for folks who want to be elementary school teachers and I want to teach high school. 

It's so ridiculous that becoming a teacher is so expensive! I do think it should be rigorous and require a lot of work to make sure one is prepared and knowledgeable, but not expensive. Then you're just keeping out lower-income people who might be amazing teachers. But I know I'm preaching to the choir here.

I met the head of the department of education for a state (I'll refrain from saying which one) and she was lovely (truly), but she acted like taking out a $20,000 loan to get licensed (plus money to live on while you're getting the degree) was no big deal... 

Thank you both for your help!

[Teachk5]

I'd be careful with state reciprocity - some are a straight transfer, some require more testing, or fingerprinting or even classes. Even if it's just a straight reciprocity, you'll still have to pay for the license. If the state requires additional items for you to transfer your license it can cost $1,000 easily. I'm not sure what the requirements are for these states, but some offer what is called "lateral entry." For example, in North Carolina you can get your teaching license if you have experience in what you are teaching, which you clearly do. There's extra coursework needed after to progress your license, but in many cases the school district will pay for that.

My suggestion is to really study what the different pathways and requirements are for licensure for each of these states and decide which state will fit best with what you need to pursue licensure. 

Another option is to look at private schools instead of public schools. Private schools often don't require state licensure to teach, and with your experience teaching already, this may be a good option for you.

[Teachk5]

I would also consider the teaching conditions/salaries for each state that you are thinking about getting licensed in. California tends to have higher salaries, but will also likely have more rigorous licensing requirements because of it. 

As the previous poster had said, getting a teaching license is expensive and it can take years to recoup the cost since the salary is so low, especially for beginning teachers. 

There are some non-for-profits that I know of on the East Coast that do some kind of residency thing like you're taking about, so you could also look to see if there are any non-profits that are working to support teachers or new teacher licensure, such as Teach for America, but TFA specifically has a bad reputations among "real" teachers, and on top of that has really selective acceptance.

[The Penguin and Podiatrist]

On 2/17/2023 at 10:31 PM, Teachk5 said:

I'd be careful with state reciprocity - some are a straight transfer, some require more testing, or fingerprinting or even classes. Even if it's just a straight reciprocity, you'll still have to pay for the license. If the state requires additional items for you to transfer your license it can cost $1,000 easily. I'm not sure what the requirements are for these states, but some offer what is called "lateral entry." For example, in North Carolina you can get your teaching license if you have experience in what you are teaching, which you clearly do. There's extra coursework needed after to progress your license, but in many cases the school district will pay for that.

My suggestion is to really study what the different pathways and requirements are for licensure for each of these states and decide which state will fit best with what you need to pursue licensure. 

Another option is to look at private schools instead of public schools. Private schools often don't require state licensure to teach, and with your experience teaching already, this may be a good option for you.

This is incredibly helpful, thank you I didn't realize that it would be so difficult to transfer licenses between states, so that's definitely something I need to keep in mind. I've never heard of lateral entry, so I will do more research into that. I (foolishly, it seems) assumed when I first looked into jobs that if I had a Master's in the subject I want to teach, plus years of teaching experience that public schools would want to hire me and the state would pay for my exams/any classes I need to teach. But that seems to be the case only in states I wouldn't want to teach in because of their poor treatment of teachers.

I am looking seriously into private schools, too, as you suggested. I applied to a few before I got my job abroad and didn't get an interview at schools that seemed to be a good fit, so I thought perhaps they prefer licensed teachers too. 

 

 

On 2/17/2023 at 10:38 PM, Teachk5 said:

I would also consider the teaching conditions/salaries for each state that you are thinking about getting licensed in. California tends to have higher salaries, but will also likely have more rigorous licensing requirements because of it. 

As the previous poster had said, getting a teaching license is expensive and it can take years to recoup the cost since the salary is so low, especially for beginning teachers. 

There are some non-for-profits that I know of on the East Coast that do some kind of residency thing like you're taking about, so you could also look to see if there are any non-profits that are working to support teachers or new teacher licensure, such as Teach for America, but TFA specifically has a bad reputations among "real" teachers, and on top of that has really selective acceptance.

About 10 years ago, I was accepted to TFA NY right out of undergrad, but the school they wanted me to teach at was a charter school that seemed incredibly strict (the children were not allowed to take a pencil out of their case without asking permission to do so...), plus I would have been required to pay $50k for grad school/to get certified while I was teaching, plus I had heard that TFA teachers are kind of looked down on by the other teachers, so I decided to accept a job teaching abroad instead.

[Teachk5]

TFA is different in New York because New York requires a master's degree in order to continue your teaching license. New York also doesn't allow you to teach without a license (or at least they didn't 8 years ago) so their TFA requirements are much more strict than they are in other states. I was actually surprised that they had a program at all. They also can be looked down upon from other teachers because most of us have been training for years to do this job and consider ourselves experts in not only curriculum and content but also in childhood development, and TFA teachers are essentially thrown into a classroom after 2 weeks and then leave the industry after a couple of years. There may be some local programs, for instance Massachusetts has "Teach Western Mass" that helps people become teachers for a specific region. You can also reach out to the colleges in places you are looking to see if they know of any resources or other pathways for licensure. Like you had said though, the ones that are desperate for teachers and that would be willing to help are desperate for teachers for a reason. You'll likely be facing violence in those school settings, quite possibly on a daily basis, so think about the conditions you are willing to teach in and what schools you would be placed in. 

[The Penguin and Podiatrist]

I absolutely agree that the model of sending unprepared people into teaching is unwise and harmful. The goal of TFA seems to be to get wealthy people to "understand the struggle of working class people and schools" so that when they become law makers they'll improve schools, which seems ridiculous. The "let's funnel money into paying rich kids with little training instead of into the schools themselves with the hope they'll maybe not be shitty when they're in power" sounds like trickle-down economics. I applied originally because my mother was pressuring me to support my entire family and I needed a job.

I want to dedicate myself to learning and putting in the work--- I just don't want to go into debt to do it. So you mentioned that residency program and that's exactly the kind of program that I am looking for! So thank you!

For anyone who might be lurking or reading this forum in the future, here's a website that lists these kinds of residency/apprenticeship programs that allow you to work with a certified teacher as an assistant and get paid while you do the classes to get certified: https://nctresidencies.org/nctr-network/teacher-residency-members/ 

Edited March 1, 2023 by The Penguin and Podiatrist

[cyclechicster]

The only thing similar to what you are trying to accomplish is the District Intern program in California. It's a marginally better version of Teach For America. You can find a district intern program in the big districts (e.g., LAUSD) or in the county offices of education (e.g., LACOE). You will be paid substantially less as a starting teacher than you would if you completed a teacher training program before getting into the classroom. However, if you already have a masters degree in a field related to what you want to teach, your rating in will bump you up to a more livable wage.