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Baldanza Fellows

Recruiting and Retaining Diverse Teachers

Scholarships for designated teacher certification master’s degrees

Pipeline to teaching position upon graduation *

Stipends to support living expenses while studying

Start applying now
Questions? Contact Rebecca Pettit at rrpettit@syr.edu

Students need more diverse teachers!

More diverse teachers are needed in schools across the Syracuse area. We know that teachers from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds have an essential impact on their students and schools. The Baldanza Fellows Program is dedicated to recruiting, developing, and retaining diverse and underrepresented teachers into Syracuse area K-12 schools.

The Syracuse University School of Education, in partnership with the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and Central New York school districts, is committed to supporting aspiring teachers to complete any of these master’s degrees that lead to initial teacher certification:

The Baldanza Fellows Program supports highly qualified and motivated future teachers from diverse or underrepresented backgrounds to earn New York teacher certification and become transformational educators in Syracuse area schools. In a 16-month master’s program, you’ll get intensive experience in local partner schools, develop a community cohort of fellow educators, link classroom theory to daily practice and receive personal and real-time mentoring from a support team of University and community teachers and leaders.

Core Components:

  • 16-month full-time study in a teacher education master’s program (May-August the following year)
  • Context-specific coursework
  • Continuous feedback and support from School of Education faculty and partner district educators
  • Year-long seminar and community development for Baldanza Fellow cohorts
  • Local and national engagement and mentoring
  • Extensive field experiences and student teaching within our partner districts

Fellows will receive:

  • A tuition scholarship to cover or go towards your master’s degree program
  • A $5,000 stipend to support living expenses
  • A hiring commitment from partner school districts *

* subject to availability, fit, student’s successful completion of program in good standing, and student’s fitness to teach. Current partnerships with the Jamesville-DeWitt and West Genesee school districts.

Baldanza Fellows must have earned their Bachelor’s degree on or before May 2022. Fellows must enroll for full-time study and be able to meet all degree requirements within 16 months. Fellows also must agree to a three-year minimum teaching commitment in one of the partner school districts upon completion of the program.

To be considered for the Baldanza Fellows Program, you must complete both an application for graduate study at Syracuse University for one of the eligible programs and the supplemental Baldanza program application. The deadline to complete both applications for admission in summer 2022 for is March 25, 2022.

Baldanza Fellows will be selected from applicants accepted to their chosen master’s program based on how their personal background and experiences inform their commitment to being a teacher to underserved and underrepresented populations and to teaching in the Syracuse area.

Questions?

Speranza Migliore | smiglior@syr.edu or 315.443.2505
Rebecca Pettit | rrpettit@syr.edu