The New Jersey Student-Teacher Pilot Program that was passed by Governor Phil Murphy last year has increased its initial $3,000 stipend by 50% to $4,500 for full-time clinically placed student-teachers.
The New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) said the program for student-teacher candidates has been well received. $10 million has been reserved in the state’s budget to continue the stipend programs for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Corina Earle, director of field placements for the Office of Certification, Field Placements, & School Partnerships, plays a large role in the distribution of funds. “At a certain point in the semester, HESSA (Higher Education Student Assistance Authority) gives us a deadline to review and check which students are eligible. The university is then given a sum that is administered through Financial Aid and delivered to the students at some point in March,” she said. The program was officially passed through New Jersey legislation and became available for distribution in Dec. 2023. As a state program, only student-teacher candidates who live in N.J. are eligible.
Dr. Jason Fitzgerald, associate professor and Chair of the Curriculum and Instruction Department in the School of Education, said, “This year, the state renewed that funding that shifted it from a stipend to a scholarship paid through the university to eligible pre-service teachers. Those who receive the scholarship can apply it to help alleviate costs.”
According to the Monmouth School of Education webpage, across disciplines and age specificities, clinical practices are year-round, including a discipline-specific Methods course with 100 hours of classroom experience before entering their full-time clinical in the Spring and Clinical Placement Seminar course. Vincent Sasso, Principal of Old Bridge High School (OBHS) and Adjunct Professor at Monmouth University, has two Monmouth University student-teachers in his classroom and students from other institutions. “I have directly observed student-teachers at OBHS and typically they are responsible for planning lessons, grading assignments, and most importantly creating a safe, trusting, and respectful classroom environment that encourages student growth,” he said.
During student teaching experiences, the School of Education advises students to only take one course, at 4:30 or later, for their Spring semester. “In their full-time semester, they are full-time the entire semester, all day, every day, following the schedule of a teacher,” Earle said. “There are lesson plans every day, which take hours. So, they come home from their placement and they’re doing that, they’re grading papers, all the teacher responsibilities, and they’re doing that for the duration of a semester,” Earle continued.
Lindsey Allen, Monmouth Elementary Education Alum ‘24, completed her student teaching last year at Betty McElmon Elementary School in West Long Branch, N.J. “The biggest adjustment to full-time is being on the teacher’s schedule. When Monmouth is on break, we are still working,” she said. The teacher-preparation program, she pointed out, is intended to be all-encompassing for a full-time teacher, including their additional after-school and supplemental responsibilities.
These activities lead to a longer school day. Earle said, “Student-teachers are working full-time and teaching. There’s no leaving at 3 pm and going to work another part-time job. If [our students] have to rush out to a part-time job to make money, they might essentially be losing the time they need to really invest in their skills and their craft.”
Sydney Mitchell, a senior secondary education and history major, will enter her full-time student-teaching in the Spring semester at Long Branch High School. “I am not sure what I will use the money for yet, but it is good to know I have this to fall back on because I would not be able to work during this time.”
Some students who do work these extra jobs believe the stipend will help tremendously. Madison Connelly, a senior secondary education and English major, works a job on campus that she will not be able to attend as much during the Spring semester. “I plan to use the money for the necessities I already pay for like rent, groceries, and gas, but it will be nice not to leave work at 10 at night and get up at 6 a.m. Not having to worry as much about going to work while teaching will help me make a much better routine,” she said.
Allen, who now works in an elementary school in Summit, N.J., as a Resource Room teacher, received $3000 as a part of the first cohort. “The 50% increase is a good pushing factor for Education majors. You want to know you are going into a field that is going to value you and recognize the work you are doing,” she said. Allen went on to report that she worked five hours every day for about twelve weeks, finishing the semester with around 300 hours of service.
However, even for students who do work another job, not all of them are being rewarded. Jill Bodiford, senior elementary education and English major, is from New York and not eligible for the scholarship. “I have to work during my clinical placement and it is a lot to handle. I’ve been paying New Jersey taxes for two years but I am not able to be considered for the stipend. I am going to be doing the same work, for free, and I still have things I need to pay for,” she said. While there are other scholarships out-of-state students can apply for to subsidize costs, such as the TEACH grant, they often involve additional commitments.
For those who are eligible, the scholarship is dispersed in March before the end of clinical placements in May. “The scholarship is a general recognition that student teaching is challenging, time-consuming, and critical to first-year teacher success,” said Fitzgerald. “This is a great way for the state to recognize the importance of student teaching and the hard work of pre-service teaching.”
