Coppin State University Announces $3.7 Million Federal Grant Award to Support Diverse Educators in Maryland
Coppin State University has received a $3.7 million Teacher Quality Partnership grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The grant will be used to support Coppin’s Pathways to Professions (P2P) initiative over the next five years. The P2P program aims to increase teacher diversity while also boosting student success in high-needs urban and rural schools across Maryland.
“The Pathways to Professions Program builds upon the foundation of Coppin State University as a destination for training and cultivating quality educators, who then go on to shape the minds of our young people,” said Coppin State University President Anthony L. Jenkins, Ph.D. “Through this program, we provide support and development opportunities for educators of diverse backgrounds, so they can, in-turn, help build brighter futures for their students, themselves, and their communities. We are developing a national model for how to prepare and retain great teachers by prioritizing their professional well-being. This is how we reverse the ongoing teacher shortage negatively impacting schools across our nation.”
According to the Maryland State Department of Education, during the 2021-2022 school year, 10 percent of teachers did not return to teaching the prior school year, and nearly 40 percent of Maryland Teachers who left local school systems resigned voluntarily, with more than 55 percent of new teachers citing voluntary resignation that as their reason for leaving. That same data set revealed that in Maryland, Black and Hispanic teachers are most likely to not return to teach in the state Nationally, teachers of color have a 18.9 percent turnover rate, compared to 15 percent for their white peers, and Black teachers have one of the highest rates of turnover, according to the Institute for Research and Labor Employment.
This is the second large scale federal grant awarded in 2022 at Coppin. Earlier this year, Coppin and partners received the Center of Educational Excellence for Black Teachers Grant (CEEBT) with over $1.8 million funding from the U.S. Department of Education. The grant supports the newly established Center for Inclusive Excellence (CIE), which aims to create a national model for inclusivity in the classroom and workplace.
Both grants were written by Associate Professor Dr. Yi Huang, Ph.D., who serves as director of the CIE.
“Breaking through traditional approaches to solving community-wide challenges of gaps in academic achievements and career outcomes, the CIE will provide multiple pathways to increase access, improve effectiveness, and accelerate career advancement for teachers of diverse background,” said Dr. Huang. Coppin’s P2P signature innovations, including Micro Credentials for competency mastery and Micro Residencies for culturally responsive practices, will be concurrently implemented across Coppin State University, Salisbury University, and University of Maryland Eastern Shore, as well as Baltimore City, Dorchester County, Somerset County, and Wicomico County Public Schools.
In 2023, the CIE will introduce stackable credentials as model Career Ladders for Teachers. As one of the first of its kind, the innovative stackable credentials will help realize the goals of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, offering teachers with both the short-term advantage of earning one or more post-baccalaureate certificates, and the longer-term option of earning an advanced degree with salary incentives and national recognition.
