MADISON – The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) has awarded nearly $1 million in Wisconsin Fast Forward (WFF) Teacher Training and Recruitment grants to two nonprofit organizations to recruit and prepare individuals to teach in public or private schools in Wisconsin.

“The Wisconsin Fast Forward program is investing in our teachers and our students,” DWD Secretary Caleb Frostman said. “Wisconsin is facing unprecedented teacher shortages and these grants will help alleviate this issue in low-income and urban school districts where Wisconsin teacher shortages are most concerning.”

DWD granted $500,000 to City Forward Collective to recruit, train, mentor, and place 140 new teachers in the City of Milwaukee. Wisconsin Fast Forward funds will be utilized to expand City Forward Collective’s innovative and successful Emerging Educators program. Teacher recruits will be placed throughout Milwaukee Public Schools, at Carmen Schools of Science and Technology, Milwaukee Academy of Science, and other urban schools serving low-income students. While in the program, teacher recruits will earn degrees leading to teacher certification at either Alverno University or Viterbo University.

DWD granted $499,850 to Urban League of Greater Madison in support of the Urban Educator Pipeline program. In partnership with the Madison Metropolitan School District and Verona Area School District, Urban League of Greater Madison will utilize Wisconsin Fast Forward funding to recruit, train, coach, and place 32 newly licensed teachers. The program will focus on recruiting teachers in the high need area of Special Education and ESL/bilingual education. While teaching, recruits of the program will earn credits toward their licensure at either the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Education or Edgewood College.

The WFF Teacher Training and Recruitment program is a state-funded annual grant program open to non-profit organizations that can demonstrate a critical need to recruit, train, and prepare individuals to teach in low-income or urban Wisconsin schools. Nineteen organizations applied for just over $6 million in funding.

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