ORANGEBURG, S.C. — S.C. State University has received at $1.4 million grant from South Carolina legislators to improve minority access to the teacher education profession.
They'll work with Claflin University to help achieve diversity in the education career field.
The initiative will serve 11th and 12th grade students in Orangeburg, Calhoun and Clarendon counties, providing them with skills to enter a teacher education program.
"The money will be used to bring students during the summer during a bridge program, which will prepare them for the entrance and exit exam in teacher education and provide scholarships," says Dr. Janice Owens, Acting Dean of College of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences.
Owens goes on to say, "This grant and this line item will certainly help us to recruit students from the I-95 corridor, especially minorities ... and bringing them into teacher education, which will also help the shortage in the state of South Carolina."
University staff says the program will be implemented in early 2020.