TTLA Scholarship Event Honors Future Early Childhood Educators

CSUDH honored nearly 150 new scholarship recipients in the Toros Teach LA (TTLA) program during a ceremony on Oct. 2 hosted by the College of Education and the College of Health, Human Services and Nursing.

The nearly $1 million in scholarships, announced earlier this year, provide critical financial support for students already working in the child development sector to get their teaching credential, undergraduates in child development or liberal studies, and graduate students who want to pursue a career in early childhood education.

Funding for the TTLA program comes from a historic $22 million donation by the Ballmer Group-the largest in CSUDH history. About $17 million will provide funding over six years to prepare more than 1,000 new educators to help address California's severe shortage of early childhood educators.

"It is such an exciting moment to see this all come to fruition. What began as a set of conversations almost two and a half years ago has culminated in touching real people's lives," said Kim Pattillo Brownson, Director of Strategy, Policy, and Partnerships for the Ballmer Group, in her address to scholarship recipients and their family members.

College of Education Dean Jessica Zachar Pandya, who co-hosted the event with Mi-Sook Kim, Dean of the College of Health, Human Services and Nursing, congratulated recipients and thanked them for their commitment to the TTLA program and its mission to prepare, graduate, and place culturally competent and racially diverse teachers and leaders in schools across LA County.

"The Ballmer Group gave us the money for these scholarships so that you can continue your education," said Pandya, "but you've brought your talent and your hearts to this career path."

She also announced that the College of Education will begin accepting applications for its newly accredited PK-3 credential program in the spring 2025 term. "We're only the third CSU to complete the PK-3 accreditation process and the only institution in the Los Angeles area to offer it."

The PK-3 Early Childhood Education Specialist Instruction Credential prepares teachers with developmentally appropriate, culturally mindful practices for young children in preschool through third grade.

Aanisah Daru, a recent graduate in liberal studies and one of this year's scholarship recipients, thanked the Ballmer Group for its generous financial support. She is currently working on her multiple subject teaching credential. "Your belief in students like me makes an incredible difference in our lives," she said.

"Becoming a teacher has always been a dream of mine, and it has been largely influenced by the incredible educators I've had within the Los Angeles Unified School District. From them, I learned what it meant to have integrity, pride in my culture, and to be proud of who I am and where I come from."

Monica Miranda, a senior liberal studies major, has taught preschool for seven years. She plans to pursue the new PK-3 credential next year. A new mother who has relied on part-time work to help fund her studies and provide for her growing family, Miranda said receiving financial assistance would make a huge difference.

"You really need to have a passion for education, because this profession takes everything you've got, and then some," she said. "The amazing teachers in this room are more than up to the challenge, and the Ballmer Group has given us what we need for success."

Brownson noted that the next generation of educators would be entering an exciting new landscape with the development of the PK-3 credential and the expansion of Transitional Kindergarten to all four-year-olds in California in the 2025-26 school year.

"Thank you for answering the call of service and for exerting your leadership," said Brownson in her concluding remarks. "You will be bringing together the best of child development and K-12 to support play-based, developmentally appropriate, and academic skills to ensure that our children can accomplish all that we know they're capable of achieving."

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