Elementary Education

FAQs

• Is financial assistance available for students who want to become teachers?

  Yes! Students in our department have several opportunities for financial assistance due to their intention to become teachers. Here are three:

  Our department sponsors a program for students interested in rural schools called TARTANS (Teachers Allied with Rural Towns And Neighborhood Schools). This program offers regular programming along and a yearly stipend, with an expectation that students will teach in a rural school for at least three years after graduation. For more information, contact professors Tammy La Prad or Michelle Holschuh Simmons.

  Many of our students are Golden Apple Scholars. This state-funded program is a teacher preparation and tuition assistance program for high school seniors, and first- and second-year Illinois college students who have the determination and drive to be excellent teachers in Illinois schools-of-need.

  The TEACH Grant is a federally-funded program that provides up to $4,000 a year in grant assistance to a student who agrees to serve for at least four years as a full-time teacher in a high-need field in a public or private elementary or secondary school that serves students from low-income families.

  The State if Illinois sponsors a scholarship for students of designated minorities who are pursuing teaching as a career through the Minority Teachers of Illinois Scholarship Program. In exchange for the $5000/year scholarship, students agree to serve for at least three years as a teacher in a school of 30% minority. enrollment,

• What makes Monmouth’s education program stand out?

  Monmouth is the only college in the United States to have formal partnerships with two national organizations – the Teton Science Schools (TSS) and the Rural Schools Collaborative (RSC). These partnerships have allowed our Educational Studies Department to create a rural teacher corps program (TARTANS) and provide place-based education opportunities at local schools (PLACE). If you have longed to be a teacher who has a dynamic vision of change and wants to give back to others, then find out more about Monmouth’s distinctive program designed to revitalize rural schools and communities by contacting professor Craig Vivian.

• I would like to do my student teaching in my hometown at the school where I went. Can I do so?

  We want you to have a range of experiences that will prepare you best for your teaching career. Therefore, we want to place you in a setting for your student teaching that will broaden your experiences. We typically do not place people in districts where they went to school. We place students in schools that are within a 60-mile radius of Monmouth, or students can student-teach with the Chicago Semester program. This is the time to try something new and challenging!

• I am interested in teaching in a state other than Illinois. Can I still get my teaching license at Monmouth?

  Yes! We have had many graduates who earned their teaching degree at Monmouth and then moved to another state upon graduation. Often states’ requirements differ slightly, so you will likely be granted a provisional license for your first year while you take any classes that might be required (typically only one or two). After you have completed those requirements, you will be granted a full teaching license in the other state. For more information, contact professor Tom Sargent.

• I am interested in education for my career but not as a classroom teacher. Can I do that at Monmouth?

  Yes! The educational studies major is designed for students who feel a connection to education and who want to learn about the teaching and learning process, but they are not interested in pursuing an Illinois teaching license at the moment. Contact professor Brad Rowe or see our educational studies major/minor page.

• Is financial assistance available for students who want to become teachers?

  Yes! Students in our department have several opportunities for financial assistance due to their intention to become teachers. Here are three:

  Our department sponsors a program for students interested in rural schools called TARTANS (Teachers Allied with Rural Towns And Neighborhood Schools). This program offers regular programming along and a yearly stipend, with an expectation that students will teach in a rural school for at least three years after graduation. For more information, contact professors Tammy La Prad or Michelle Holschuh Simmons.

  Many of our students are Golden Apple Scholars. This state-funded program is a teacher preparation and tuition assistance program for high school seniors, and first- and second-year Illinois college students who have the determination and drive to be excellent teachers in Illinois schools-of-need.

  The TEACH Grant is a federally-funded program that provides up to $4,000 a year in grant assistance to a student who agrees to serve for at least four years as a full-time teacher in a high-need field in a public or private elementary or secondary school that serves students from low-income families.

  The State if Illinois sponsors a scholarship for students of designated minorities who are pursuing teaching as a career through the Minority Teachers of Illinois Scholarship Program. In exchange for the $5000/year scholarship, students agree to serve for at least three years as a teacher in a school of 30% minority. enrollment,

• What makes Monmouth’s education program stand out?

  Monmouth is the only college in the United States to have formal partnerships with two national organizations – the Teton Science Schools (TSS) and the Rural Schools Collaborative (RSC). These partnerships have allowed our Educational Studies Department to create a rural teacher corps program (TARTANS) and provide place-based education opportunities at local schools (PLACE). If you have longed to be a teacher who has a dynamic vision of change and wants to give back to others, then find out more about Monmouth’s distinctive program designed to revitalize rural schools and communities by contacting professor Craig Vivian.

• I would like to do my student teaching in my hometown at the school where I went. Can I do so?

  We want you to have a range of experiences that will prepare you best for your teaching career. Therefore, we want to place you in a setting for your student teaching that will broaden your experiences. We typically do not place people in districts where they went to school. We place students in schools that are within a 60-mile radius of Monmouth, or students can student-teach with the Chicago Semester program. This is the time to try something new and challenging!

• I am interested in teaching in a state other than Illinois. Can I still get my teaching license at Monmouth?

  Yes! We have had many graduates who earned their teaching degree at Monmouth and then moved to another state upon graduation. Often states’ requirements differ slightly, so you will likely be granted a provisional license for your first year while you take any classes that might be required (typically only one or two). After you have completed those requirements, you will be granted a full teaching license in the other state. For more information, contact professor Tom Sargent.

• I am interested in education for my career but not as a classroom teacher. Can I do that at Monmouth?

  Yes! The educational studies major is designed for students who feel a connection to education and who want to learn about the teaching and learning process, but they are not interested in pursuing an Illinois teaching license at the moment. Contact professor Brad Rowe or see our educational studies major/minor page.