Milwaukee City Wire

The Teacher Training and Recruitment Grant Program will receive an additional $1 million in funding thanks to the efforts of Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers and the Department of Workforce Development (DWD).

The funding is made available through the DWD’s Expanded Wisconsin Fast Forward program.

“I’ve always said that what’s best for our kids is what’s best for our state, and that’s why we have prioritized providing resources to our educators and our schools to ensure every kid in every community has access to a quality public education,” Evers said in a release from his office.

Wisconsin nonprofits can apply for up to $500,000 in grant funding. The money can be utilized to recruit, train and ultimately license teachers in line with Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction standards. The release said the training is designed for teachers in low-income and urban areas.

“Investing in our teachers so that they can provide high-quality education is an investment in both our current workforce and future workforce generations,” DWD secretary-designee Amy Pechacek said in the release.

In 2020, the program awarded two grants estimated at $500,000 each. One went to the City Forward Collective in Milwaukee and the other to the Urban League of Greater Madison. The grants trained 172 new teachers between the two cities.

The fund are only available to tax-exempt 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) nonprofit organizations. Applications are due by 3 p.m. CST on March 4, according to the release. To download an application, contact the Grant Program Announcement.