Texas A&M University–Central Texas is excited to be among the six new Raising Texas Teachers partner universities announced by the Charles Butt Foundation. A&M–Central Texas joins more than 24 partner teacher preparation programs across the state collaborating with the Foundation to address persistent challenges in teacher preparation through innovative thinking and use of data.
Participating universities are eligible to recommend their teacher candidates to receive the Charles Butt Scholarship for Aspiring Teachers, an $8,000 per year scholarship that can cover expenses up to the cost of attendance for up to four years. Recipients of the scholarship are committed to teaching in the Texas public school system in either a Title 1 or majority economically disadvantaged school or in a priority subject area that has historically been hard to staff (math, science, special education, or bilingual).
A&M–Central Texas offers several teacher preparation degree programs at both the bachelor’s and master’s levels, including the Alternative Certification Program that allows students with a bachelor’s degree in another field to pursue a teaching certification while also earning a master’s degree. The alternative program was designed to help address the teacher shortage in Texas.
A&M–Central Texas joins five other Texas A&M University System schools in the partnership with the Foundation. Over the past four years, the university has worked with the Charles Butt Foundation and other stakeholders to scale evidence-based clinical practices, improve coursework and training to include practice-based pedagogies, develop strong district partnerships, and advance the teaching profession by sharing lessons learned.
“We are excited to welcome these universities as Raising Texas Teachers Partner programs. Their commitment to providing high-quality preparation and support to their teacher candidates is commendable, and we know their addition will strengthen the Raising Texas Teachers program, through which we strive toward a future where every student, in every classroom across Texas, has an effective teacher every year.” said Thea Ulrich-Lewis, vice president of programs at the Charles Butt Foundation. “The teacher preparation programs working as a part of Raising Texas Teachers demonstrate a commitment to high-quality programming and have established a strong foundation in continuous improvement.”
To date, the Foundation has awarded more than $15.7 million to over 1,000 scholarship recipients. More than 600 scholar alumni have graduated from their teacher preparation programs and entered the teaching field.
Applications for the Charles Butt Scholarship for Aspiring Teachers opened on Saturday, Oct. 5.