Save On Your Teaching Degree with the Black Belt Teacher Corps Teach for Alabama Scholarship

This scholarship is available to any University of West Alabama junior/senior education student (on-campus, online, Alt. A and Assistant to Teacher) in a program providing initial certification who has passed the Praxis Core and meets the other criteria listed on the application. For BBTC scholars receiving the full scholarship, community service is also part of the commitment.

Eligibility Criteria:

• Completed application form
• Passed Praxis Core
• Classified as a junior or senior in TEP
• Minimum 2.75 GPA
• Demonstrated financial need
• Never defaulted on a loan or scholarship award
• Enrolled in a program of study for initial certification that leads to teacher certification/licensure

1. Complete application form (please type).
2. Write a one-page, typed double-spaced statement. Discuss your educational goals and how you plan to use the scholarship money.
3. Provide two letters of recommendation.
4. Include three copies of your scholarship application and an unofficial transcript.

Return applications to the College of Education:

University of West Alabama
College of Education
Attn: Susan Hester
Black Belt Teacher Corps Teach for Alabama Coordinator
Station 8
Livingston, AL 35470

Each semester the scholarship is active, the award is $2,500 (up to a maximum of $10,000). Full scholarship recipients ($10,000) will also complete a community service project ($1,000 granted to use as start-up money). Recipients receiving less than the full scholarship award also have the option to complete a community service project.

There will be a sliding scale of the service teaching time required based upon the amount awarded. Senior interns receiving one semester of scholarship funding ($2,500) must commit to teach for a full calendar year in an approved Alabama public school within 12 months of certification and receive ALSDE certification within six months of the originally expected graduation date. Seniors receiving two semesters of scholarship funding ($5,000) must commit to teach for two full calendar years in an approved Alabama public school within 12 months of certification and receive ALSDE certification within six months of the originally expected graduation date. Students receiving three or four semesters of scholarship funding ($10,000) must commit to the same stipulations and teach three calendar years.

Counties in the Black Belt region that apply to this scholarship umbrella include: Lamar, Pickens, Sumter, Choctaw, Washington, Greene, Hale, Marengo, Clarke, Perry, Dallas, Wilcox, Monroe, Conecuh, Escambia, Lowndes, Butler, Crenshaw, Montgomery, Macon, Pike, Bullock, Russell and Barbour. To find out which Alabama public schools are considered rural, use this link. High-needs districts usually include schools that have critical teacher shortages, content area shortages, prevalent poverty, low-performance or large percentages of teachers teaching without certification or outside of their certification field.

Recipients must sign and return a promissory note before the release of scholarship funds.

Recipients are also required to sign a Black Belt Teacher Corps Teach for Alabama contract and failure to do so will result in dismissal from the program. If you are accepted as a Black Belt Teacher Corps Teach for Alabama scholarship recipient and do not complete requirements, you will be required to repay any scholarship stipends received.