JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A $7 million U.S. Department of Education grant designed to help address the teacher shortage in our area through a program at the University of North Florida was just defunded.
That grant was intended to help address several issues, including the teacher shortages in North Florida, specifically in Clay County District Schools.
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In 2022, UNF’s Silverfield College of Education and Human Services was awarded a $7 million partnership grant for Project PREP. The federal grant came from the U.S. DOE.
The goal was to renew the educator pipeline in collaboration with Clay County District Schools and UNF’s College of Arts and Sciences to address the critical teacher shortage in our area.
However, that goal was derailed last week when the grant was defunded.
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“Not only was it granted in 2022 was granted through 2027 so the fact that this grant was stopped with still really two more years or so left on it is quite concerning, especially since we’re in the midst of the worst teacher we ever seen in the state of Florida,” Andrew Spar, President of the Florida Education Association, said.
Spar said the state of Florida should be a pipeline for future teachers.
“We should be leading in this area. We shouldn’t be talking about a massive teacher and staff shortage. We should be showing solutions and addressing those challenges,” Spar said.
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UNF Dean Stephen Dittmore sent an email to the faculty, which explains the funding cut, saying:
“We received news yesterday that University of North Florida’s Project PREP grant has been terminated due to an administrative decision by the U.S. Department of Education. We have asked for additional information about how to proceed and are awaiting a response.
“This is, of course, disappointing news and it creates a high degree of uncertainty. In the interim, we have met internally with the provost’s office, OSRP, and legal and UNF is committed to making the best of this situation. We will provide more information as we receive it.
“We deeply appreciate the dedication of the PREP staff and students and their commitment to advancing education professionally. We are working toward identifying creative solutions to continue growing quality teacher candidates for our NE Florida partners.”
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The Clay County School District also provided a statement, saying:
“The District values its strong partnership with UNF and remains committed to collaboratively finding solutions and continuing to support teacher recruitment and retention efforts in our community following the change in funding for the previously awarded grant. We will continue to work with UNF as a valued partner to explore alternative strategies and ensure a robust pipeline of qualified educators for our students in Northeast Florida.”
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“It’s a real shame because we’re struggling with teachers right now in Florida,” UNF Student Kelly Walsh said.
Walsh, who minors in education at UNF, said this is a major setback.
“It’s really hard, and I really hope we can turn this around. We need to get teachers back into classrooms to educate our kids, show them the arts, history, and the beauty that books can bring,” Walsh said.
Walsh, who comes from a family of teachers, believes North Florida is losing more educators.
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“First, we lost English teachers because of book bans, then history teachers because we’re banning books about our own history and the history of the world,” Walsh said.
The grant was one of the largest awarded to the college. Here’s a statement from the U.S. DOE about the decision:
“As The Nation’s Report Card (NAEP) recently indicated, America’s students are falling dangerously behind in math and reading. Teacher prep programs should be prioritizing training that prepares youth with the fundamentals they need to succeed for the future, not wasting valuable training resources on divisive ideologies. The U.S. Department of Education will continue working to ensure taxpayer dollars are used wisely to strengthen America’s education system.”
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