Paying for graduate school can be challenging in the best of circumstances. But one fellowship could help Native American students with financial aid.
Fellowships are a form of financial aid that can help with the costs of graduate education. A graduate university in southern California is looking for Native American fellows interested in K-12 teaching.
Claremont Graduate University has secured funding for fellows interested in a graduate degree in education. The fellowship is partly funded through the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Indian Education. Those accepted can receive a graduate degree in under 15 months. The fellowship also includes a $1,400 dollar a month stipend and 100% of tuition paid for. Included is a mentorship program for the first year on the job for graduates.
DeLacy Ganley is the dean of education studies at Claremont and she emphasizes the correlation of student-mentor relationships and retention rates of teachers.
“One statistic has over 50 percent of teachers quitting within 3 years of becoming credentialed. That’s not the case with our alumni and I think it’s not the case because we really are a mentorship program.”
Accepted fellows are required to work at a school that serves Native youth for 15 months after graduation. The program also requires applicants to prove that they, their parent, or grandparent are enrolled in a federally recognized tribe. She said self-identified Natives or Natives not federally documented are unfortunately ineligible.
“Not all populations have been equally served well by public schools. Educators help promote equity, disrupt cycles of academic failure, and really help make sure that all populations have equal opportunity.”
Ganley wants to admit eight new fellows for 2019. For more information go to cgu.edu.
