MICHIGAN (WZMQ) – A program new to Michigan is providing opportunities and resources for those studying for a career in education.
“Our founder Mike Koldyke was watching the Academy Awards with his wife, and said, ‘Why aren’t we celebrating our teachers like this?'” said Caycee Sledge, Chief Program Officer for the Golden Apple Foundation in Michigan.
Inspired by that question, the inaugural Golden Apple Awards were held in Illinois in 1989.
“That first cohort of award winners felt like they needed to do something more to help support the next generation of teachers,” Sledge said. “That’s where the Golden Apple Scholars Program came out of.”
The Golden Apple Scholars Program has grown in Illinois in the years since. It expanded to New Mexico in 2022, and launched in Michigan this year.
“The Golden Apple Scholars Program is a teacher recruitment and teacher preparation and mentorship program,” Sledge explained. “We’re looking for any Michigan student who will go to a Michigan teacher prep program and then commit to teaching for five years in a Michigan school of need, where 30% or more of the student population qualifies for free or reduced lunch or is considered economically disadvantaged.”
The program is open to high school seniors and college freshmen and sophomores. Sledge says Golden Apple supports those students throughout the entire process.
“When they’re in their undergrad, we provide social/emotional support,” she said. “We help students with making sure they keep their GPA up and can connect them to resources on their campus. When they’re graduating, we provide them with job placement support, resume building, mock interviews. Those first couple years of teaching are really hard, so we provide a mentor who understands the age group that this teacher is teaching, understands the content area, as well as the community that they’re in.”
Another major resource for students in the program is the one-week Golden Apple Scholar Institute in the summer.
“It allows our scholars to get into the classroom and get classroom experience really early on in their journey,” said Sledge. “They would start practicing teaching. They receive professional development from high-quality teachers here in Michigan. They’re also creating a network of support across the state of other students who are going through this same journey.”
The Scholar Institute also provides a financial benefit for students.
“It is a $2,000 stipend that goes directly to the student,” Sledge explained. “Every year that they come to the Institute adds an additional $500. If they start as a senior with us and they go through their senior year of college, they can have up to $15,000 in financial support.”
According to Sledge, teacher prep program enrollment in Michigan has declined about 68% since 2008, leading to statewide teacher shortages.
“In the last couple school years, we in Michigan had alone had over 1800 teacher vacancies that were unfilled, she said. “Most likely, they’re falling in those high-need subjects like science and math and special education, bilingual education. When we don’t have highly qualified people in front of our students, it’s the students that really feel it.”
The Golden Apple Scholars Program aims to prepare newcomers to fill those roles, promote teacher retention, and ensure every student has a dedicated professional instructing them in the classroom.
“We need to elevate the teaching profession and bring passionate students into the field and make sure that they feel supported and excited about the role,” said Sledge.
Applications for the Golden Apple Scholars Program are open now through April 1. Click here for details.
