County Executive Olszewski Announces $1 Million in Scholarships to Boost Teacher Diversity in Baltimore County

TOWSON, MD — In a new effort to enhance the teacher pipeline and promote greater diversity within the teaching profession across Baltimore County’s public schools, Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski and Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS) today announced the award of a $1 million grant to support the creation of a new Diverse Teacher Recruitment Scholarship: Growing Our Own for BCPS program.

“Every child deserves to grow up with role models and mentors who look like them,” said Baltimore County Executive Olszewski. “Diversity is our strength in Baltimore County and the new recruitment scholarship will support students from across the county and make our school system stronger and more vibrant.”

“This new scholarship program will help to attract and retain more high-quality teachers to Team BCPS and create a more diverse and responsive teaching corps in our schools, one that can inspire those they teach as well as inform the instruction children receive,” said BCPS Superintendent Dr. Myriam Rogers (Yarbrough). “The research is clear -- a diverse, multicultural teaching force, one that reflects the community, pays dividends far into the future both for the teachers themselves and also, crucially, for the children they teach. We commend and thank County Executive Olszewski for making this important program a reality. As a former teacher himself, he understands the value of a program like this for Baltimore County’s future.”

Like jurisdictions across the country, BCPS continues to experience a shortage of teachers who are black, indigenous, people of color (BIPOC), and women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) content areas.

Currently, 40.4 percent of BCPS students are Black, 32.8 percent are White, 14 percent are Hispanic/Latino and 7.3 percent are Asian; however, 55.2 percent of BCPS teachers are white, 34.9 percent are Black; 5.1 percent are Hispanic, and 2.26 percent are Asian.

The Diverse Teacher Recruitment Scholarship: Growing Our Own for BCPS announced today, which will be implemented by Education Foundation of Baltimore County Public Schools, Inc., aims to support the efforts from BCPS in recruiting, training, and retention of BIPOC teachers and women in STEM fields by providing eligible individuals with scholarships support the costs of tuition, fees, and books.

“The Education Foundation of BCPS is honored to be a collaborative partner of this opportunity that is provided to boost teacher diversity in our schools throughout Baltimore County,” said Education Foundation of Baltimore County Public Schools, Inc. Executive Director Deborah Phelps. “With the foundation’s purpose being to build and provide resources to serve our students, educators, and schools this will be yet another opportunity to impact teaching and learning.”

To be eligible, individuals must be:

• College students in their junior and senior years, current BCPS para-educators, and/or individuals changing careers currently studying education;
• Students who are Black, Indigenous, People of color (BIPOC), and/or women pursuing teaching certificates in science, technology, engineering, and/or math (STEM)l
• Students studying at local colleges and universities.

In addition, scholarship recipients must commit to completing internships in BCPS schools and commit to teaching with BCPS for three years upon graduation from an accredited teacher-education program.

More information about the Education Foundation of BCPS and the application for the Growing Our Own for BCPS Scholarship can be found at www.educationfoundationbcps.org.