COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH/AP)–How does free college tuition sound?
It’s happening for 100 early childhood teachers in Columbus.
The plan will give them free tuition at OSU over the next 5 years.
“They’ll be ensuring that this stream of highly qualified teachers will have the greatest impact where they’re needed the most,” said OSU President Michael Drake. They’ll be learning while doing, and doing while learning.”
The scholarship program will benefit Ohio State’s Early Head Start Partnership. It’s a nationally recognized initiative that provides education, health and community support for children and families in at-risk neighborhoods. The partnership will allow recipients to get a bachelor’s degree tuition-free.
Roberto J. Rodriguez, Deputy Assistant to the President for Education, said OSU is the perfect place for these teachers.
“What greater pipeline than a pipeline that begins with our community colleges, advances to such a great institution as The Ohio State University, and then moves to our early learning settings,” he said.
Asyia Haile has been providing early childhood education for 18 years, and the mother of a college student looks forward to the opportunity to go back to school.
“Going back to school is a benefit,” she said. “It’s a benefit to you, to me, to the community, with our partnership and to the children. And if they’re going to pay for it? Why not take on that education and learn as much as we can and bring back to our children?”
Haile said she plans to be a Buckeye in August.
Other partners in the program include Columbus State Community College and Action for Children, a private nonprofit that provides child care and early learning information and resources.