UPPER PENINSULA, Mich. (WZMQ) – Applications are now open for a program giving future teachers the training they need to fill vacancies in Michigan schools.
Northern Michigan University student Lexie Landis has dreamed of becoming a teacher since she was a child.
“Teaching has just been something I’ve always wanted to do,” she said.
She discovered the Golden Apple Scholars Program while exploring that career path.
“I was observing my senior year at a local elementary school, and the principal had pulled me aside and told me about all of the opportunities that Golden Apple could bring,” Landis said. “I was super excited to try to apply and see if I fit the requirements.”
The Golden Apple Foundation recruits aspiring teachers attending Michigan schools. The Scholars Program supports them on their journey.
“We look for rising seniors in high school and freshmen and sophomores in college,” said Caycee Sledge, the Chief Program Officer for Michigan. “We help with placements into teaching after they graduate, and then get them connected with a mentor for their first couple years of teaching. We’re a long-term relationship to support people who want to be teachers.”
Golden Apple Scholars also receive financial support.
“We pay our scholars to attend professional development in the summer, and that’s a stipend paid directly to the student,” said Sledge. “We also get them connected to a lot of other resources for aspiring educators across the state that they might not otherwise be aware of.”
Landis was part of the first cohort of Michigan Golden Apple scholars. She says one of the most valuable aspects of the program is the Scholar Institute.
“I was able to work with students that were below the tenth percentile, which was really cool to see how to properly discipline students that don’t necessarily have the best home life,” she said. “I was able to get experience in every different kind of classrooms. They also have people higher up in the education department teach us all different things, like how to deal with different IEPs, build classroom relationships, and make sure that your students have their basic needs met first, and then how to teach them the curriculum.”
Golden Apple scholars commit to teaching for five years in a Michigan school of need.
“We define a school of need as a school where 30% or more of the students in that school qualify for free and reduced lunch, which in Michigan is about 84% of our schools,” Sledge explained.
According to Sledge, the demand for certified, dedicated teachers is great.
“In the 2023 – 2024 school year, we had about 2,400 teacher vacancies that went unfilled,” she said. “That’s a lot of classrooms that don’t have certified, effective teachers. The need is really there, and the students in Michigan really deserve to have those amazing educators in front of them.”
Scholars like Landis say thanks to Golden Apple, they are on their way to becoming the best educators they can be for the students who need them.
“They have thrown me into classrooms and had me teach different lesson plans and really just get uncomfortable so that I can be more comfortable when the time comes,” said Landis. “They even help you go through the interview process. Nothing is going to be the same your first day of teaching. Especially your first couple years, it’s going to be really hard, but they have done everything they can to prepare me, and I’m feeling less weight on my shoulders walking in.”
Applications are due by March 1, 2026, but aspiring teachers are encouraged to apply before the priority deadline of December 1, 2025.
“We encourage people to apply and spread the word,” Sledge said. “Reach out to us. We’re here to support, and we really want more students from the U.P. to be part of our program. It’s an amazing profession, and you can really make an impact.”
To apply for the Golden Apple Scholars Program or to learn more about it, visit goldenapple.org.
