The Department of Teacher Education and Graduate Studies at Salem College received a $16,500 grant from the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust to create a Teachers as Practitioners Benevolence Fund. This fund will support financially needy students living in Forsyth County who are seeking their teaching licensure during their student teaching semester. Benevolence funds will be accessible to qualified students beginning in the fall 2013 semester. 

Many students in the program must quit their part- or full-time jobs in order to complete the student teaching semester.  The Benevolence Fund will provide financial support for students in their student teaching semester to complete their final requirement to obtain their teaching licensure. This fund will not only help many of Salem’s students to earn their licensure, but it will also help to provide qualified teachers for schools in Forsyth County. 

"This grant is a huge gift to our department,” says Salem Director of Teacher Education Mary Ann Davis. “Student teaching is a full-time job. Some of our student teachers have needed paid employment at the same time in order to pay rent and buy food for their families. These funds will allow them to focus on their teaching, giving them a stronger classroom experience."  

The Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust was established in 1947 and is now one of the largest private trusts in North Carolina. Its mission is to improve the quality of life and health for the financially needy of North Carolina.