The Department of Education announced that applications are open for $15 million in grants through the Augustus F. Hawkins Centers of Excellence Program. There will be 27 grant awards, ranging from $450,000 to $650,000, to fund the creation of teacher preparation centers of excellence at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges or Universities, or Minority Serving Institutions, such as Hispanic-Serving Institutions.

The purpose of the grants is to support a diverse teacher workforce to improve student opportunities, achievement, and outcomes, and address the educator shortage by providing expanded access to comprehensive, high-quality, and affordable educator preparation programs.

The applications process includes two Absolute Priorities and one competitive preference. Absolute Priority will be given in two areas:

• Projects that are designed to increase and retain the number of well-prepared teachers from diverse backgrounds; and
• Projects that increase evidence-based, comprehensive pre-service clinical experiences through teacher preparation programs.

One Competitive Preference Priority will be given to projects focused on increasing the number of bilingual and/or multilingual teachers with full certification.

The deadline to submit applications is June 18, 2024.