Produced by the Office of Marketing and Communications
The University of Maryland College of Education is joining the AmeriCorps Schools of National Service program, an initiative launching Tuesday to support college access and accessibility. This new partnership reflects the college’s commitment to civic engagement and growing the teacher pipeline throughout Maryland.
The College of Education will provide up to $4,000 in matching funds for five AmeriCorps alums entering the Master of Education with Certification (MCERT) program each year. Along with the UMD matching funds, full-time AmeriCorps members receive a $6,000 Segal AmeriCorps Education Award for completing their service. In total, AmeriCorps alumni starting the MCERT program will receive more than $10,000 in scholarship funds.
AmeriCorps will officially launch Schools of National Service through a virtual event at 2 p.m. Tuesday. College of Education Dean Jennifer King Rice is slated to speak during a discussion addressing the importance of higher education, the value of national service and UMD’s commitment to matching scholarship funding for the AmeriCorps Schools of National Service program. Registration is open to the public.
As an AmeriCorps School of National Service, the College of Education hopes to attract civic-minded AmeriCorps alums with a dedication to teaching and serving in high-needs schools and communities, helping to forward the college’s civic engagement and teacher-leader goals.
"The College of Education is proud to join the AmeriCorps Schools of National Service program. I am hopeful that our matching scholarship funds will draw some of the nearly 1.2 million AmeriCorps alumni, who as experienced community builders and practicing educators, will advance our college’s priorities related to civic engagement and social justice-oriented education,” Rice said.
The MCERT program is a teacher preparation program that leads to teacher certification with a Master of Education degree, and will serve as the college’s pilot for the AmeriCorps Schools of National Service initiative. The MCERT program takes one year to complete and costs the same for in- and out-of-state students.
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