Foundation 65 is supporting an inaugural cohort of educators working towards their masters in reading or literacy endorsement. These 12 educators, chosen for their commitment to supporting District 65 students of color, are already implementing their new-found skills in their classrooms and will be supported to be leaders in ensuring that each District 65 child builds the literacy skills that they need.
District 65 educators are facing extraordinary challenges this year, especially those who have taken on graduate studies on top of their regular work. In addition, COVID-19 has had a disproportionately negative impact on students and families of color. The vast majority of educators in Foundation 65’s literacy program are women of color.
With that in mind, Foundation 65 is granting additional financial support to this year’s Master’s in Literacy and Reading Endorsement program. In addition to the 50% tuition reimbursement promised for winter semester, the Foundation has committed to paying for 100% of tuition for the summer semester.
Foundation 65 Executive Director Alecia Wortowski said to the program recipients, “While there are a multitude of challenges in this moment, we also know that we need to look beyond this current crisis and build capacity in our educators and our school system. We are hopeful that this will provide both the immediate relief and the long-term support to help our teachers be more successful in their classrooms.”