OCTE is very excited to announce that we have established the Oregon Teachers for the Dream $1,000 Scholarship in recognition of the importance of having teachers of color and other historically underrepresented educators in the classroom, and as a response to the shortage in Oregon’s K-12 institutions.

According to The Education Trust, 100% of white students attend a school with at least 5% same-race teachers, while that cannot be said of students of color (https://edtrust.org/educator-diversity/#OR). Many other students find themselves unrepresented by their teachers in Oregon schools. 

Teacher diversity matters. According to Seth Gershenson, Michael Hansen, and Constance A. Lindsay, authors of Teacher Diversity and Student Success: Why Racial Representation Matters in the Classroom, everyone benefits from teachers of color and other underrepresented educators in the classroom.  Students who see themselves represented by their teachers experience improved educational outcomes, parents are more involved in schools whose staff include representation of their communities, and diversity in a school’s staff promotes tolerance in the entire student body.

College is expensive.  As a teacher, you recognize that the expenses continue for educators right through the student teaching year and into the adventure of setting up a new classroom with books and supplies.  While a small scholarship may barely put a dent in the expenses of student teaching, we hope to support and encourage pre-service teachers of color and other underrepresented educators in Oregon schools.

Applications will be open beginning on February 15th and due by April 30th. Pre-service teachers of grades K-12 who are accepted and enrolled in an accredited Oregon University Teacher Education Program are encouraged to apply the year before their student teaching.