FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - AUGUST 3, 2009

Oct. 9 deadline set for Future Teachers Conditional Scholarship applications

     OLYMPIA – College students who are Washington residents and plan careers as teachers in Washington’s public K-12 education system have an opportunity to be among approximately 100 award recipients in the state’s Future Teachers Conditional Scholarship and Loan Repayment Program.

     Selected participants for the 2009-10 academic year will receive conditional scholarships up to the value of tuition and fees charged to students at Washington’s public two- and four-year colleges and universities. The conditional scholarships actually are student loans that can be forgiven in exchange for qualified teaching service in Washington public schools. For a loan to be forgiven, two years of teaching is usually required for each year of funding.

     For the 2009-10 academic year, selection priority will be given to applicants who commit to teach math, science, special education, agricultural education, business and marketing education, family and consumer science education, and technology education. While special education may be taught at any grade level to receive priority, other subjects must be taught at 7th grade or higher.  

     Legislative funding of the Future Teachers Conditional Scholarship and Loan Repayment Program addresses an issue raised in the state’s 2008 Strategic Master Plan for Higher Education. A study conducted as part of the Strategic Master Plan implementation strategy found state teacher shortages in areas such as high school math and science. The report recommended that addressing such shortages should be a high priority if the state is to meet future demand for college graduates in fields such as math and science.

     The deadline for applying for conditional loans under the Future Teachers Conditional Scholarship and Loan Repayment Program is Oct. 9, 2009. The application form and other information about the program are available on the HECB website at www.hecb.wa.gov/teachers.  

# # #

For more information: Gary Larson

(360) 753-7817 or garyl@hecb.wa.gov