Teachers will be awarded scholarships to pursue their National Board Certification. The Mississippi Department of Education is partnering with Mississippi Professional Educators to award scholarships up to 125 diverse candidates who wish to pursue their National Board Certification. Awardees will each receive a $475 scholarship. Diversity may be based on an educator’s race, gender, ethnicity, subject(s) taught, or pathway to licensure.
The scholarships will be funded through a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, which also supports the Mississippi Teacher Residency program. Each of the scholarships will provide seed money for recipients to begin their National Board journey. The recipients will then use the state’s reimbursement of their initial component to pay for subsequent components.
Scholarship recipients will also be reimbursed for the $75 registration fee to the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and will receive up to $100 for mentoring support at a World Class Teaching Program. Ninety-five scholarships will be awarded to the highest-ranked applicants teaching in Sunflower County, Jackson Public Schools, Moss Point, and Ocean Springs school districts. The remaining 30 scholarships will be awarded to the highest-ranked applicants from the state at large.
Eligible applicants must:
- Be under contract as a full-time educator in Mississippi during the 2019-20 school year
- Hold a bachelor’s degree and a valid Mississippi teaching license
- Have three years of classroom experience
- Submit the $75 nonrefundable and nontransferable registration fee to the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards and have a valid candidate identification number
- Register with a Mississippi World-Class Teaching Program by October 30, 2019, and adhere to all program guidelines
- Be a first-time National Board candidate who is pursuing the initial component
The application is available at the MPE website. Completed applications are due to the MPE office by 4:30 pm on Friday, August 23, 2019.
