St. Scholastica launches Minnesota Teacher of the Year scholarship

The College of St. Scholastica is excited to announce a new scholarship for Minnesota Teacher of the Year recipients. Organized by Education Minnesota, the Teacher of the Year program selects one teacher to represent Minnesota’s thousands of excellent educators. “The scholarship is just one of the ways we recognize the important work of educators and their pursuit of advanced education degrees across the state of Minnesota,” stated Dr. Chery Lucarelli, chair of Doctoral and Graduate Education Studies.

“St. Scholastica’s graduate education programs support the Benedictine value of love of learning,” continued Dr. Lucarelli. “Our practitioner-scholar model encourages students to apply research to improve their communities and organizations.”

The scholarship comes with the momentum of St. Scholastica’s Doctorate in Educational Leadership (EdD). Launched in summer 2021, the program is intentionally grounded in change leadership, social justice and equity to meet the needs of leaders across industries such as education, healthcare, government and social work.

As an online cohort-based program, the EdD is made of a supportive learning community with dedicated faculty. “We believe people learn better together,” shared Dr. Lucarelli. “There’s an alignment with our value of community and developing a community of scholars within our programs.”

The scholarship’s first recipient

Jess Davis, MA, 2019 Minnesota Teacher of the Year, is among the first to enroll in the EdD program with the scholarship. “I am drawn to the program’s grounding in social justice and high-impact practices,” shared Davis. “I am honored to be included in part of the work.” Davis grew up in St. Joseph, MN, a town with ties to the College. In 1892, Mother Scholastica Kerst and 28 Sisters left St. Joseph to establish a Benedictine mother-house and an academy in Duluth. “This seems like a divine pairing,” reflected Davis.

The Minnesota Teacher of the Year Scholarship covers 50% of tuition for the duration of one graduate education program. Winners from 2018 forward can receive funding towards one program of their choice: EdD, MED, Graduate Special Education Licensure or graduate education certificates.

To learn more about the EdD and other online graduate education programs, please join the College for an online information session on Thursday, March 23 at 4:30 p.m. or Saturday, March 25 at 10 a.m. The information sessions will share more on the flexibility and convenience of our graduate education programs.

For more information regarding the Minnesota Teacher of the Year Scholarship at The College of St. Scholastica, please contact Dr. Chery Lucarelli, chair of Doctoral and Graduate Education Studies.