August 20, 2022 Issue, Page 8 of 8

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August 20, 2022 Bill Helton walks away with a gift, saying his is prob- ably for his daughters. Staff photo by Sheryl Ponce. WTC’s Chris Carpenter grabs some tools from Sears. Northwestern Introduces New Scholarship for Teacher Education Students Northwestern Oklahoma State providing more highly qualified Must declare a major in teacher homa public school following University will now be able to of- educators.” education and attend an Oklaho- graduation fer qualified Oklahoma education Below are the requirements of the ma university with a state-accred- Must maintain Satisfactory Aca- students up to $25,500 in schol- new program: ited teacher education program demic Progress (SAP), including a arships and incentives through Must be an Oklahoma resident Must be enrolled as a full-time 2.5 GPA House Bill 3564 signed by Gov. and graduate from an Oklahoma student majoring in teacher edu- To apply for this program or to Kevin Stitt. The application dead- line is Aug, 24. high school cation ask questions, contact Oswald The Oklahoma Future Teacher Must meet higher education ad- Must declare an intent to teach at (580) 327-8451 or jdoswalde Scholarship and Employment In- mission requirements five consecutive years in an Okla- nwosu.edu. centive Program, also called In- spired to Teach, is offered to stu- dents planning to pursue a degree and a career in teacher education. he scholarship amount is $1,000 per year for up to three academic years and $2,500 for the final aca- Elk City Assistant Superintendent Cindy Buckmaster demic year. Following graduation, and her sister Jodi Laufer have a combined 95 years of ex- the Oklahoma State Regents for perience in education. Staff photo by Sheryl Ponce. Higher Education is authorized to make employment incentive pay- ments to scholarship recipients employed as certified teachers in an Oklahoma public school. The employment incentive provides participants with $4,000 a year, for up to five consecutive years. Students who have graduated are not eligible for the new program. “I'm excited for the opportunity this provides for our teacher can- didates, who will enter Oklahoma classrooms ready from day one,” Dr. Jennifer Oswald, chair of the Division of Education and ass ate professor of education, said. “It’s a step in the right direction, WTC, Sayre Campus Principal Dee Wilhelm and WTC as this ultimately benefits Okla- Superintendent Kathe Corning finish their meal and wait homa public school children by for the drawings to begin. Staff photo by Sheryl Ponce.