The National Education Association has teamed up with radio host and philanthropist Tom Joyner to encourage more minority teachers to work in the nation’s hard-to-staff schools.
The $700,000 program will pay for aspiring teachers to take courses that lead to certification at seven historically black colleges and universities.
“What we’re trying to do is to make sure there are plenty of minority teachers out there,” Mr. Joyner, the host of the nationally syndicated “Tom Joyner Morning Show,” said in a statement. The Tom Joyner Foundation provides scholarships for students to attend the nation’s historically black institutions. “Over the years, we’ve learned that many teachers don’t go on to complete their certification, and they end up missing out on opportunities or leave the teaching profession completely,” he said.
About half of all African-Americans who take teacher- entrance exams pass, according to the 2.7 million-member NEA.
Grants will be awarded to teachers now working in urban, suburban, and rural public schools with large proportions of minority students. Recipients will be required to teach in a high-needs school for at least three years.
