Awards up to $27,000 are available for candidates in the California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB) credential program. On March 17, the Making Accessible and Effective Systems for Teacher Readiness Outcomes (MAESTROs) Project hosted a credential year information panel session with speakers Dennis Kombe, Sophia Vicuna and Jessica Garcia, giving information on how those awards can be earned.
Kombe, representing the Tri-County Residency Program, a partnership between CSUMB and the Monterey County Office of Education (MCOE) and school districts in the Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties explained that the residency program is focused on training future educators for elementary education with bilingual authorization, special education and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The program awards recipients $20,000-25,000 for tuition, books and other fees.
The requirements for applying are to be awarded a bachelor’s degree, enrolled in a CSUMB credential program and committed to teaching at one of the following school districts for four years after completing the residency program.
- Alisal Union School District
- North Monterey County Unified School District
- Soledad Unified School District
- King City USD
- Greenfield USD
- Hollister School District
- San Antonio Union Elementary School District
- Salinas City Elementary School District
- San Benito High School District
- Live Oak School District
Kombe also represented the Salinas Union High School District (SUHSD) Residency, a partnership with CSUMB and SUHSD created to train future educators for special education and STEM in middle and high schools. The program only accepts 10 candidates a year, who are awarded $25,000 for tuition, books and fees.
Vicuña represented Project POPPY: Preparing Observational Practitioners through Partnerships Yearlong. This program allows future educators to earn $27,000 in scholarship funds and a residency at a partnered school district.
The program only accepts 20 scholarships for the 2023/2024 academic year. According to Vicuña, the requirements for the program include a 3.0 GPA, admission into the Masters Plus Secondary or Elementary Education Credential Program and commitment to teaching for three years at one of the following school districts:
- Gonzales Unified School District
- Salinas City Elementary School District
- Soledad Unified School District
- King City Union School District
- Salinas Union High School District
- Alisal Union School District
- Greenfield Union School District
- South Monterey County Joint High School District
Garcia, a CSUMB’s Financial Aid Department coordinator, wanted to inform credential students applying in the summer and fall of 2023 to know that their Oasis FAFSA and To Do List objectives should be completed to avoid potential mishaps during the application process.
Garcia also wanted to let undergraduate Cal Grant A and B recipients planning to enroll in a teaching credential program know they could be eligible to renew their Cal Grant for another year. The added year only applies to the teaching credential and not graduate-level courses.
According to Garcia, students must submit The Request for Cal Grant Teaching Credential Program Benefits (G-55) form to the California Student Aid Commission. However, she advises that the form can take several weeks to process and is not guaranteed. She also promoted that there are a lot of scholarships available for students on CSUMB’s financial aid website.
If you are interested in the Tri-County Residency Program or Salinas Union High School District (SUHSD) Residency, contact [email protected] or visit https://sites.google.com/csumb.edu/tctrp/tctrp-home and https://www.salinasuhsd.org/Page/1496 for more information.
If interested in Project POPPY: Preparing Observational Practitioners through Partnerships Yearlong, contact [email protected] or visit https://csumb.edu/teach/resources/project-poppy/ for more information.
To access The Request for Cal Grant Teaching Credential Program Benefits (G-55) form, visit https://www.csac.ca.gov/post/request-cal-grant-teaching-credential-program-benefits
For more information on CSUMB scholarships available, visit https://csumb.edu/financialaid/other-csumbcsu-scholarships/ for more details.