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Teacher Education
Quincy University’s Grow Your Own Rural Teacher Education program, funded by a grant from the Tracy Family Foundation (TFF), focuses on teacher candidate retention and early support in the field post-graduation. In the TFF ten-county region, rural schools are having difficulty recruiting and retaining teachers. The "Teacher Shortages: What We Know" report produced by the Education Commission of the States (May 2016) acknowledges the struggle rural schools face in attracting and retaining highly qualified teachers. QU has identified that a large number of students leave the Education program between their sophomore and junior year. The Grow Your Own scholarship, given to juniors and seniors, is designed to boost the number of students that go into teaching, help QU with retention and increase the number of quality teachers staying to teach in the rural communities surrounding QU.
Program Benefits:
Scholarship Support.
A cohort of four students will receive a $5,000 annual scholarship beginning their junior year (for a total of $10,000) in exchange for agreeing to stay and teach in the ten-county TFF service region for a minimum of three years after graduation. Preference will be given to students interested in high demand content areas including STEM and Special Education.
Summer Institute.
All scholars will be required to participate and teach in a Summer Institute for area students. Grow Your Own scholars will receive a $1,000 stipend to participate in the three-week institute.
Post-graduation Teacher Mentor Program
Research shows the single most important variable for student success is highly qualified teachers. QU has a proven track record of producing quality teachers. Students who go through the Education program participate in a unique teacher immersion program where students are working, observing and learning in infant through grade twelve classrooms. This early access to the classroom is because of a strong partnership with the Quincy Public Schools. With more students graduating from QU with a degree in education, QU will expand its impact on future generations and directly contribute to the increase of a qualified teaching workforce.
