In a partnership with WGU North Carolina, Rowan-Salisbury School System teacher assistants can receive scholarships to help advance their educational careers. | Photo Courtesy of Pixabay
In a partnership with WGU North Carolina, Rowan-Salisbury School System teacher assistants can receive scholarships to help advance their educational careers. | Photo Courtesy of Pixabay
A North Carolina university partnered with a public school system to help its classified staff advance their education careers, according to a deal signed in February.
The union between WGU North Carolina and Rowan-Salisbury School System announced Feb. 4 provides up to $4,800 to help teacher assistants earn bachelor’s degrees and related certifications.
“School districts across North Carolina, and especially in more rural areas, are always looking for dedicated and qualified individuals to fill teacher positions,” WGU North Carolina Chancellor Catherine Truitt said, which is part of the national online Western Governors University, in a statement.
The agreement allows up to $800 in tuition credit for a six-month term to eligible Rowan-Salisbury staffers enrolled in a WGU North Carolina teacher-preparation program. The scholarships are available after Pell Grants are used and are for no more than three years.
“I applaud the leadership of [Rowan-Salisbury School System] for working with us to provide a solution that will help [teacher assistants] earn teaching degrees as close to debt-free as possible," Truitt said.
Enrollees create an academic schedule that fits within their schedule, according to the agreement, and educators at WGU North Carolina provide support and instruction in a one-on-one environment.
“This program makes dreams come true for many of our eligible [teacher assistants] in leading the way for them to become classroom teachers to the children and families that they serve,” Rowan-Salisbury School System Superintendent Lynn Moody said in a statement.
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