The Baltimore County Public Schools system is looking to diversify its teacher workforce with $1 million in scholarships meant to attract educators from currently underrepresented backgrounds to the profession, county officials announced Thursday.
A $1 million grant will help the county create its new “Diverse Teacher Recruitment Scholarship: Growing Our Own for BCPS” program.
“Every child deserves to grow up with role models and mentors who look like them,” Baltimore County Executive Olszewski said in a statement. “Diversity is our strength in Baltimore County and the new recruitment scholarship will support students from across the county and make our school system stronger and more vibrant.”
BCPS has faced a problem felt in school systems throughout the U.S., where teachers who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color are underrepresented in the profession. BCPS also has a shortage of women teachers specifically in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) subjects.
BCPS’s student body is currently 40.4% Black, 32.8% white, 14% Hispanic/Latino, and 7.3% Asian. However, more than half of the school system’s teachers are white (55.2%), while only 34.9% are Black, 5.1% are Hispanic/Latino, and 2.25% are Asian.
“This new scholarship program will help to attract and retain more high-quality teachers to Team BCPS and create a more diverse and responsive teaching corps in our schools, one that can inspire those they teach as well as inform the instruction children receive,” said BCPS Superintendent Dr. Myriam Rogers Yarbrough in a statement. “The research is clear — a diverse, multicultural teaching force, one that reflects the community, pays dividends far into the future both for the teachers themselves and also, crucially, for the children they teach. We commend and thank County Executive Olszewski for making this important program a reality. As a former teacher himself, he understands the value of a program like this for Baltimore County’s future.”
The new scholarship program will provide scholarships to eligible individuals to help them pay for tuition, fees, and books. The program aims to recruit, train, and retain more teachers who are Black, Indigenous, people of color, and women in STEM fields.
The Education Foundation of Baltimore County Public Schools will implement the scholarship program.
“The Education Foundation of BCPS is honored to be a collaborative partner of this opportunity that is provided to boost teacher diversity in our schools throughout Baltimore County,” said Deborah Phelps, executive director of the foundation, in a statement. “With the foundation’s purpose being to build and provide resources to serve our students, educators, and schools this will be yet another opportunity to impact teaching and learning.”
To be eligible for a scholarship, individuals must be
Junior or senior college students, current BCPS para-educators, and/or individuals who are currently studying education and changing careers
Students who are Black, Indigenous, people of color, and/or women pursuing teaching certificates in STEM subjects
Students studying at local colleges and universities
Scholarship recipients will also have to commit to completing internships in BCPS schools, and commit to teaching with BCPS for at least three years after graduating from an accredited teacher-education program.
For more information about the scholarship program, visit www.educationfoundationbcps.org.
