Aiming to produce a more diverse pool of teachers to serve underrepresented areas of Monterey County, the U.S. Department of Education has awarded a $5.8 million grant to Cal State Monterey Bay’s (CSUMB) residency program, providing scholarships over a five-year period to 94 students pursuing their teaching credential and master’s degree in education.
According to Erin Ramirez, associate professor of education and director of the Residents Offering Outstanding Teaching for Students (ROOTS) Project, the project and grant hopes “to bring more Black Indigenous People of Color into the field of teaching to produce highly-effective teachers that look like the students they will be teaching; which research shows leads to higher achievement for K-12 students.”
Student recipients in the 18-month-long program will receive a $40,000 scholarship meant to ease the cost of living and tuition according to Ramirez.
In addition, recipients throughout the program will shadow experienced teachers from one of three local school districts: Salinas Union High, Alisal Union (in East Salinas) and Greenfield Union School District. Once they graduate, they agree to teach in one of the school districts for three years.
The ROOTS Project builds upon a previous five-year student residency project led by Ramirez and Sophia Vicuña, associate director and project coordinator, securing an additional $1 million in funding.
Dean of the College of Education Karen Myers-Bowman, believes in the ROOTS Project’s ability to reach future student educators based on the success of the duo’s latest program.
“I am certain the successes achieved in recruitment, completion and retention from the previous DOE grant will provide the foundation for successful future efforts supported by this new project,” said Myers-Bowman.
According to Ramirez, CSUMB was the only college in the state and the country to receive a perfect score on its grant application. As a two-women team, Ramirez and Vicuña view the awarded grant as a reflection of their commitment to future educators.
“In particular, both being first-generation college students, we highly value the ability to pay it forward and give back to our first-generation future teachers; many of whom would never have dreamed of getting a master’s degree,” Ramirez said.
In 2025, the ROOTS Project will introduce its first cohort of 15 students. Each year’s cohort will grow by two until 2029, when the cohort will grow by one, bringing the total to 94 student recipients by the end of 2029. The first cohort will begin in the summer of 2025.
“The ROOTS Project will support students aspiring to become educators through all aspects of the program from before they are accepted, throughout the program, and into their first years of teaching,” shared Ramirez.