More than $500,000 in Scholarships Available to Special Education Credential Candidates
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 22, 2005
Kathleen McPartland
530-898-4260
Mary Jensen, Special Education Programs
530-898-4099
More than $500,000 in Scholarships Available to Special Education Credential Candidates
California State University, Chico’s Special Education Teacher Preparation Program within the Department of Professional Studies in Education has recently awarded a total of $345,000 in scholarships to 53 graduate students. Additional awards are available to qualified applicants. The money comes from four grants awarded to the program by the United States Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, said Mary Jensen of the Department of Professional Studies in Education.
Three of the grants were renewed this year, and one was from the approval of a new project. In the past four years, the continuing grants have awarded $905,000, Jensen said. The scholarships can be used to pay for tuition, books and traveling expenses incurred while seeking education specialist credentials, Jensen said. These credentials enable teachers to work with students with mild to severe disabilities.
Rural Northern California has a great need for qualified special education teachers. The program works in partnership with 58 school districts, federal and state governments, and public and private agencies. The program benefits the school districts who participate in teacher preparation and development and, as a result, are able to attract top special education candidates. The program is part of the Northeastern California Partnership for Special Education at CSU, Chico, which received an award in 2004 for exemplary preservice and inservice teacher preparation from the American Council on Rural Special Education.