New Funding to Diversify the Teacher Pipeline
Funding from New York state and Nazareth College will support teacher preparation by paying up to half the tuition cost for 30 education students per year at Nazareth for the next five years.
Nazareth College was awarded $975,000 in state Teacher Opportunity Corps (TOC) II grant funding for students who live in New York and are from racial/ethnic populations historically underrepresented in the teaching field — especially males of color. The program is open to underrepresented racial/ethnic populations of all genders and non-gendered students.
Nazareth has administered TOC grants for the state Education Department since 1989, most recently a five-year TOC II grant for $650,000 that ended in August 2021.
“As a former TOC recipient, I am honored to work with a new generation of teachers who desire to work with children in some of our most needy schools,” says Kai Strange, director of Nazareth’s Urban Teacher Opportunity Partnership Program (UTOPP). “TOC participants are part of a professional community that supports, guides, affirms, and nurtures them as they prepare for a career in education. It is also exciting to see how TOC alumni continue to support and encourage one another as they network to help each other with their daily responsibilities as educators.”
Eligible students must be committed to teaching in high-need schools and enroll in one of these Nazareth degree programs:
- Bachelor's in inclusive adolescence education (grade 7-12) or inclusive early childhood/childhood education(birth-grade 6, quad certification)
- Master's in art education, inclusive adolescence, inclusive early childhood, inclusive childhood education, literacy specialist, music education, speech language pathology or Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL).
For details and application instructions, see naz.edu/toc
For More Information
Julie Long |Senior News & PR Officer | jlong2@naz.edu | (585) 389-2456 | (585) 781-8186 (cell)
Nazareth University is an inclusive community of inspired learners, educators, and changemakers who for nearly 100 years have been driven by a bold commitment to action, empathy, equity, and leading innovation for the common good. Impact experiences are at the heart of a Nazareth education, preparing each student to discover within themselves the potential to cultivate positive change in their life's work, in any career field, and in a world that is constantly evolving and infinitely interconnected.
Our broad academic offerings present a range of study options typical of larger universities, yet achieved in our supportive campus culture. Nearly 2,100 undergrad and 600 graduate students enroll in degree and certificate programs and engage in collaborative, transformative learning experiences, preparing for the professions and society of today and tomorrow. In a learning community that purposefully integrates liberal arts and professional programs, Nazareth University graduates are able to launch a lifetime of impactful leadership in communities and workplaces near and far.
