To Strengthen the Minnesota Educator Pipeline, nearly 600 Aspiring Teachers Received a Grant in 2024

5/6/2025

 

The Minnesota Office of Higher Education (OHE) administers three grant programs and a loan repayment program that support both aspiring teachers and current educators in the state. During the 2023-24 school year, OHE awarded 591 grants to aspiring teachers, with an additional 474 current Minnesota teachers receiving loan repayment support.

“For Minnesota to be the best state to raise a family, we need to invest in our teachers,” OHE Commissioner Dennis Olson said. “These grants are helping us bring more Minnesotans into the teacher workforce and connecting districts across the state to highly qualified teacher candidates.”

OHE’s Student Teacher Grants in Shortage Areas (STSA) program provides grants to eligible students who are enrolled in a Minnesota teacher preparation program and working to complete their required 12-week student teaching experience. To be eligible, students must intend to teach in a subject area that is hard-to-fill or commit to teaching in a Greater Minnesota school district after receiving their teaching license.

For the 2023-24 school year, OHE awarded 280 STSA grants. This investment also benefitted 124 school districts throughout the state, by helping them access a student teacher. To learn more, read the latest STSA program report.

The Underrepresented Student Teacher Grant (USTG) provides financial support to aspiring teachers who belong to a racial or ethnic group underrepresented in the Minnesota teacher workforce. Eligible students must be enrolled in a Minnesota teacher preparation program and may receive an award while completing their required student teaching.

For the 2023-24 school year, OHE awarded 131 USTG grants. To learn more, read the latest USTG program report.

The Aspiring Teachers of Color Scholarship is a pilot program that provides financial assistance to undergraduate and graduate students who are preparing to become teachers, have demonstrated financial need, and belong to racial or ethnic groups underrepresented in the Minnesota teacher workforce.

For the 2023-24 school year, OHE awarded 180 scholarships. Funding for this program ended in 2024, so these scholarships represent the final awards being made through the program. To learn more, read the latest Aspiring Teachers of Color Scholarship program report.

Finally, the Minnesota Teacher Shortage Student Loan Repayment program provides student loan repayment assistance to eligible teachers employed at a school in Minnesota. The purpose of the program is to encourage eligible teachers underrepresented in the Minnesota teacher workforce by race and ethnicity to teach in Minnesota.

For the 2023-24 school year, 474 teachers received an average of $998 in loan repayment assistance. To learn more, read the latest Minnesota Teacher Shortage Student Loan Repayment program report.