Each year, the Rowland Foundation offers up to four Diversifying the Educator Workforce (DEW) Grants for aspiring educators of color who live in Vermont. Each grantee may receive up to $20,000 in financial assistance to cover costs associated with obtaining their Vermont teacher's license, including: exams, graduate courses, licensing fees, certification and internship programs, and other costs incurred while student teaching. In addition, grantees will be paired with a licensed Vermont educator of color. This mentor will provide support and guidance throughout the grant cycle. Applicants must be able to demonstrate completion of a Bachelor's Degree; current Vermont residency; and either employment in a Vermont school or concrete steps already taken towards teacher licensure.

Even as a growing body of educational research demonstrates the positive impacts of teachers of color on the short- and long-term outcomes for all students, Vermont's educator workforce does not reflect the increasing diversity of the state's overall population. In recognition of this disparity, The Rowland Foundation is pleased to offer this new grant program, intended to remove some of the obstacles to teaching licensure that prevent some educators of color from entering the profession in Vermont.