Montgomery College will use a $10,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation to support scholarships for students studying for a career in education. With this funding, the college will award a total of 20 scholarships worth $500 each to students working toward associate’s degrees in early childhood education, elementary education and secondary education, or to students planning to transfer to four-year institutions to pursue bachelor’s degrees in teaching.
“The Verizon Foundation continues to be a generous supporter of Montgomery College’s education program,” said Montgomery College President Dr. DeRionne Pollard. “This grant bolsters the College’s mission of changing lives and supports our efforts to provide Montgomery County and the state of Maryland with highly-qualified future teachers.”
William R. Roberts, Verizon’s president for Maryland/Washington, D.C., said, “Our children are our future, and it’s critical that they have talented, knowledgeable teachers from the beginning of their educational experience. Verizon has long supported education in Maryland through grants such as this one, which Montgomery College will use to help aspiring teachers realize their goals of developing the full potential of the state’s children. The students also will benefit from Verizon’s free educational Web site, Thinkfinity.org, as part of the college’s teaching curriculum.”

The School of Education at Montgomery College provides degrees and certificates. The Associate of Applied Sciences (A.A.S.) in Early Childhood is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) as a program designed to meet degree requirements for daycare center directors and lead staff. The Associate of Arts in Teaching (A.A.T.) degree is available in early childhood, elementary education and secondary education and offers the first 64 to 68 credits toward a four-year bachelor’s degree and teacher certification. The education credits are fully transferable with public colleges and universities in the state of Maryland.

For students with a bachelor’s degree interested in secondary education teacher certification in high-need areas, Montgomery College offers the Alternative Certification for Effective Teachers (ACET). The School of Education also offers a variety of courses that apply toward Maryland certification via transcription evaluation.

To learn more about Montgomery College’s School of Education, please visit http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/Departments/educatrv/ or call 240-567-1757.

For photo caption information, please e-mail marcus.rosano@montgomerycollege.edu.

About Montgomery College
Montgomery College is a public, open admissions community college with campuses in Germantown, Rockville, and Takoma Park/Silver Spring, plus workforce development/continuing education centers and off-site programs throughout Montgomery County, Md. The College serves nearly 60,000 students a year, through both credit and noncredit programs, in more than 100 areas of study.

About the Verizon Foundation
The Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon Communications, supports the advancement of literacy and K-12 education through its free educational website, Verizon Thinkfinity (www.thinkfinity.org), and fosters awareness and prevention of domestic violence. In 2009, the Verizon Foundation awarded $67.9 million in grants to nonprofit agencies in the U.S. and abroad. It also matched the charitable donations of Verizon employees and retirees, resulting in $26.1 million in combined contributions to nonprofits. Through Verizon Volunteers, one of the nation’s largest employee volunteer programs, Verizon employees and retirees have volunteered more than 5 million hours of community service since 2000. For more information on the foundation, visit www.verizonfoundation.org.

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