The STEP UP grant is coming to an end so we will not be offering new awards for the fall semester.   We will concentrate on supporting students already in the program.   Thank you for taking the time to apply.   We encourage you to request information from the Financial Aid Office concerning the TEACH grants that will be available to education students  in the next month or so.  

 
The STEP UP grant will address critical needs in the recruitment, preparation and retention of new teachers in El Paso’s urban/rural areas. Applicants who plan to teach in the critical, high-need areas identified by our school district partners: science, math, bilingual education, and special education, will be given special consideration. The project goals are to:

1. increase the number of highly qualified K-12 teachers to work in high-need schools;
2. establish systemic improvements in the recruitment of pre-service teacher candidates, including those from other professions or non-traditional backgrounds;
3. establish systemic improvements in the preparation of pre-service teacher candidates, including high quality preparation in technology uses and arts/sciences;
4. offer support pathways to teaching as a career for those from other professions or non-traditional backgrounds;
5. implement systemic change in partner institutions’ support for recruitment/preparation/induction of new teachers (including hiring, promotions, scholarship goals;and
6. establish a Teacher Preparation Council to monitor long-term planning/implementation/evaluation of these systemic changes.

For questions or more information, call Dr. Barbara Shaw, 915-747-7608, or e-mail bshaw@utep.edu.

Funded by the United States Department of Education through the Teacher Quality Enhancement Grants program, Title II of the Higher Education Amendments of 1998.