Education majors at Salisbury University and WCPS graduates were each awarded $42,905 during a ceremony on Nov. 5. The awards were made possible by $829,234 in state funding for Worcester.
Nineteen WCPS graduates at SU get $42k from state for returning to teach here
By Tara Fischer
Staff Writer
(Nov. 12, 2026) As part of a statewide effort to shrink teacher vacancies, 19 Worcester County Public Schools graduates received hefty scholarships last week to minimize tuition costs as they work toward degrees in education.
The education majors at Salisbury University and WCPS graduates were each awarded $42,905 during a ceremony on Nov. 5. The awards were made possible by $829,234 in state funding for Worcester, as part of Maryland’s Grow Your Own Educators Grant Program. Gov. Wes Moore announced the money this summer.
In August, the governor declared a second round of funding for the Grow Your Own program, totaling $14.7 million to be dispersed among 13 school districts. Of the $829,234 reserved for this county’s public schools, $815,915 was given as scholarship money to 19 SU students who are local graduates
The program aims to address the teacher shortage by minimizing the financial barriers, like college tuition costs, for entering the profession. State funding to local school systems is intended to help offset these costs for students pursuing careers in education, with the goal that they will return to work in the district where they graduated.
Ultimately, the initiative aims to develop a pipeline of qualified educators and reduce vacancies in the field. The 19 scholarship awards will allow the recipients to continue their schooling with fewer financial constraints.
SU Seidel School of Education Dean Laurie Henry said last week’s ceremony surprised the recipients.
“They received a letter from me and [WCPS Superintendent Annette Wallace] identifying them as eligible for one of the scholarships,” the dean said. “The students were under the impression that only one was being awarded. It was a great surprise and celebration that all 19 were present and received an award.”
She added that the students are all first- or second-year students at SU who have declared themselves as education majors. As a condition of the scholarship, the students will work in the Worcester school system as substitute teachers when their class schedules allow.
Henry said the dollars will help awardees pay their tuition and fees for all four years of their bachelor’s education. The only remaining expense for students would be housing.
For 2026-2027, SU’s in-state tuition is around $11,500 for the year.
“It is a full-ride scholarship for all of their tuition and fees,” Henry said. “It will cover all four years. It doesn’t cover housing, but it will cover their tuition and fees for the four years. And of course, some of them are sophomore status, so for them it’ll cover everything from this current semester until they graduate.”
For SU freshman Caroline Webster, the scholarship will help her reduce tuition bills and stay on campus as she prepares for a career as an elementary physical education teacher.
Webster, a graduate of Pocomoke High School, said she was planning to move home during her sophomore year to save money. Now, she can continue living near her peers and make the most of her college experience.
“Originally, I was going to have to move home next year,” she said. “But with the help of this money, it pays for my tuition, and with the help of my other scholarships, I’m able to stay at school without facing any financial challenges for the rest of my college career.”
Webster hopes to teach at Pocomoke Elementary School where she attended. She said she wants to work alongside her former instructors and continue learning from them “to become the best teacher [she] can be.”
Webster added that she had no idea she would receive such a large financial aid award.
“I was very shocked, and my whole family cried,” she said. “It was a very exciting moment for everybody.”
This month’s scholarship presentation is just another way Worcester is advancing its Grow Your Own Program.
In April, Moore announced the fiscal year 2026 Grow Your Own Grant, with $19 million intended to expand the initiative, to be distributed across school systems. WCPS received $985,540.
According to WCPS Coordinator of Public Relations Carrie Sterrs, that money is being used to support the system’s teacher registered apprenticeship program, announced in August of this year.
The apprenticeship initiative is the first Maryland Department of Education-sponsored program of its kind, bringing in a cohort of employees to work in the district and earn money while pursuing teacher certification.
The program’s goal is to create an avenue for new educators from within the Worcester community.
The SU scholarships will also help accomplish that mission.
Henry said that while the whole state is dealing with teacher shortages, these deficiencies are particularly worrisome on the Eastern Shore, where many graduates plan to leave their hometowns for larger metro areas.
The Grow Your Own initiative, however, targets future educators hoping to make a difference in their own communities.
“Through Grow Your Own, we’re able to identify students who are already committed to the local region to be able to become highly skilled teachers and go back into the schools that they graduated from,” she said.