Aspiring Teachers Have Until Aug. 1 to Apply for Expanded Diversity Scholarship

Aspiring teachers from a diverse background have until Aug. 1 to apply for up to $10,000 in annual scholarships under a Connecticut program expanded by the state legislature during this year’s session.

The Aspiring Educators Diversity Scholarship Program is open to diverse students who graduate from a public high school in one of Connecticut’s Alliance School Districts. State lawmakers voted overwhelmingly this year to expand the scholarship, which had previously been limited to graduates from a smaller number of districts.

A bill to enhance the program was championed by Sen. Doug McCrory, a Hartford Democrat who co-chairs the legislature’s Education Committee. McCrory, who has worked as an educator for more than three decades, spoke of the importance of a diverse teaching workforce.

“All the research shows that every child learns more when they’re taught by a diverse teaching population,” McCrory said. “I’m an educator because I had a teacher of color in my school.”

Eligible students from Alliance Districts who are enrolled in a teacher preparation program at a four-year higher education institution can apply for the scholarship by visiting the State Department of Education’s website.

Connecticut schools have long had a diversity gap between the racial backgrounds of students and teachers. For instance, students of color made up roughly 52.5% of the student population during the 2022-23 school year, while educators of color accounted for just 11.2% of the educator population, according to a report by Education Reform Now Connecticut.

Recipients of the scholarship gathered at the Legislative Office Building in March to highlight a previous application window. During the event, one of the aspiring teachers, Sherrod Cuttino, a Central Connecticut State University student, said the scholarship had aided him as a person of color striving to have a positive impact on future generations with limited income.

“My main reason for becoming a teacher is, as others have said, I haven’t seen a lot of people who look like me in the environment helping students and I think that goes a long way,” Cuttino said. “Even now, being so young, I talk to other students and they say I’m a role model to them. So I can only imagine the effect on a larger scale when I become a teacher.”

At the time, McCrory vowed to pass legislation expanding eligibility for the program from a small number of Priority Districts to more than 30 Alliance Districts. Two months later, the state Senate sent that legislation to the desk of Gov. Ned Lamont, who signed the bill into law on May 21.

The program is now open to diverse applicants who graduated from public high schools in the following districts: Ansonia, Bloomfield, Bridgeport, Bristol, Danbury, Derby, East Hartford, East Haven, East Windsor, Hamden, Hartford, Killingly, Manchester, Meriden, Middletown, Naugatuck, New Britain, New Haven, New London, Norwalk, Norwich, Putnam, Stamford, Stratford, Torrington, Vernon, Waterbury, West Haven, Winchester, Windham, Windsor, and Windsor Locks.

Posted by Hugh McQuaid