November 23, 2021
CARSON
CITY, Nev. – The Nevada
Department of Education (NDE or Department) today announced the “Incentivizing
Pathways to Teaching” Grant Program (IPT Grant Program), which will grow
Nevada’s educator workforce by providing stipends to support pre-service
educators as they complete coursework or student teaching at a Nevada System of
Higher Education (NSHE) institution or other approved educator preparation
program.
The IPT
Grant Program provides financial supports to ensure qualified educator candidates
complete their educator preparation programs. Too often, educator candidates
are unable to complete their programs and graduate licensure-ready due to the
financial hardship of giving up part-time work to accommodate a student
teaching schedule. With the IPT Grant Program, NDE seeks to address this issue and
provide additional resources to bolster Nevada’s educator pipeline.
“The single
most important in-school factor affecting a student’s education is their
teacher, and it is a key priority of the Department to grow our State’s
educator workforce with effective and diverse educators,” said Jhone Ebert,
State Superintendent of Public Instruction. “NDE’s Incentivizing Pathways
to Teaching project prioritizes equitable access to qualified teacher candidates
by removing financial constraints, directly supporting many Nevadans on their journey
to become educators. I extend my gratitude to Governor Sisolak and the Nevada
Legislature for recognizing and supporting this need, as well as to NSHE for
their ongoing collaboration and partnership.”
“My
administration is continuing to focus on investing in our educators to help our
students achieve at higher levels, and this program is one more way we can
continue to support our hardworking educators," said Nevada Governor
Steve Sisolak. "I am excited to see this program get off the ground
and I am grateful to the Nevada Department of Education for their work on this
project.”
Through the
IPT Grant Program, support will be provided to pre-service educators as either stipends
for student teaching or tuition assistance for educator preparation programs. Students
may receive up to $2,000 for tuition assistance at any time during the final
three semesters of their program, and up to $8,400 in stipends during their
student teaching semester. If accepted, each candidate who receives these funds
must obtain a Nevada standard teaching license and seek employment in a public
school in the State of Nevada. Priority will be given to candidates who have
financial need and/or identify as a person of color.
“The
importance of collaborating between our K-12 and higher education organizations
cannot be overstated in growing a sustainable educator workforce for Nevada,” said
Nevada System of Higher Education Chancellor Melody Rose. “I am grateful
for the work we have been able to accomplish with the Nevada Department of
Education and Superintendent Ebert, and I am thrilled at the impact this grant
program will have on our students. Everyone enrolled in an educator preparation
program at one of Nevada’s higher education institutions should take advantage
of this opportunity.”
The Nevada
Department of Education has teamed up with the Nevada System of Higher
Education (NSHE) to address Nevada’s teacher pipeline and expand the number and
diversity of licensure-ready teachers in the State. Both the NSHE Teacher Pathways Task Force, launched in April 2021, and the IPT
Grant Program are products of this ongoing collaborative work.
The IPT
Grant Program was approved in spring 2021 by the Interim Finance of the Nevada
Legislature. The Program launched in fall 2021 and will run for two calendar
years, until the end of spring 2023. The fall 2021 cohort of pre-service
educators included stipends for 265 teachers during their student teaching, and
tuition assistance for 764 teachers.
NDE
anticipates the IPT Grant Program will support 2,000 pre-service teachers with
student teaching stipends and 1,840 teachers with education preparation program
tuition assistance throughout its lifetime. In total, the Program has the
potential to support 3,840 pre-service Nevada educators for Nevada.
Nevada
received more than $1.5 billion in federal relief funding for education, translating to Statewide projects and
programs aligned with NDE’s four strategic investments to recover and renew
education from the COVID-19 pandemic. Those strategic investments are: Teacher
Recruitment and Retention; Advancing Equity; Social-Emotional Learning and
Mental Health; Efficiencies for Long-term Success.
In March
2021, the Nevada Department of Education released a Report on Nevada Class Sizes and
Educator Workforce,
which indicated that Nevada needed an additional 3,000 teachers to improve core
class sizes to the ratios recommended by the State Board of Education. Due to
Nevada’s need to grow its number of licensed educators, NDE prioritized $20.7
million in federal relief funding from Elementary and Secondary School
Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER II) out of the Coronavirus Response and Relief
Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSA) for the IPT Grant Program which
represents approximately 43% of all CRRSA funds available to NDE for Statewide
activities. Other work to support the educator pipeline includes the NSHE Teacher Pathways Task Force and the Teacher Recruitment and Retention
Advisory Task Force established
by the Legislature.
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ABOUT THE NEVADA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
The Nevada Department of Education (NDE) leads and collaborates with
Nevada’s 17 school districts and the State Public Charter School Authority to
advance educational equity Statewide. With offices in Carson City and Las
Vegas, NDE oversees all pre-K-12 education in the State, working to achieve its
mission to improve student achievement and educator effectiveness by ensuring
opportunities, facilitating learning, and promoting excellence. Under the
leadership of the State Board of Education and the Superintendent of Public
Instruction, NDE impacts the achievement of nearly half a million children and
30,000 educators.