Over the next four years, selected students enrolled in the University’s Early Childhood Special Education Program will be able to alleviate fifth-year tuition costs by tapping into an $800,000 U.S. Department of Education grant recently awarded to the Education School.
“The purpose of the grant is to attract students into the teaching field who are interested in early intervention and early student education,” said Asst. Education Prof., Tina Stanton-Chapman, one of the co-applicants for the grant.
The money will become accessible after Jan. 1, 2009, she said, and the Education School is in the process of reviewing potential recipients of the funds.
The grant, announced in August, is large enough to finance 12 students per year but will expire after four years, at which point the University will need to apply for the grant again. Stanton-Chapman said she plans to reapply for the grant once it expires.
Students awarded the grant will receive a full year’s tuition, Stanton-Chapman said, in addition to a living stipend, the value of which has yet to be determined. In exchange, Stanton-Chapman added, these students must agree to teach for two years upon graduation in a special education program at the school of their choice. According to a University press release, students will also be eligible for two years’ worth of funding provided that they teach for four years in a special education program.
To qualify for the grant, students must apply for enrollment, or already be enrolled, in the Early Childhood Special Education Program and must have a 3.0 GPA.
Education Prof. Martha Snell, co-applicant for the grant, explained that the grant is meant to ease the financial woes of paying for an extra year of schooling, since the program spans a total of five years.
The Early Childhood Special Education program is open to undergraduate as well as graduate students, Stanton-Chapman said, both of whom may apply for the grant. Undergraduates who complete the five-year program will receive a bachelor’s degree from the College of Arts & Sciences, as well as a master of teaching degree from the Education School. Students who already have a bachelor’s degree and want to pursue a master’s degree in education or a teaching degree may enroll in the two-year program.
“It’s a sign of our commitment to supporting children with special needs in the schools,” Education Dean Robert Pianta said of the grant. “And [it] is a terrific way to support our U.Va. students who want to take that career path.”
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