Ryan Walters: Oklahoma's Teacher Signing Bonus program has netted nearly 500 applicants
OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH) — State Superintendent Ryan Walters announced on Friday that the state's Teacher Signing Bonus program has netted nearly 500 new teacher applicants after a month.
Walters said the applicant pool breaks down as follows:
- 95% of applicants have Oklahoma certifications
- 14% of applicants have multi-state certifications, including Texas, Mississippi, Michigan, Colorado, Arizona, California, Missouri, Maryland, Arkansas
- 5% of applicants have out-of-state certifications only, including Texas, Kansas, Arizona, and Louisiana
- 1 applicant from outside the United States
- 268 applicants are certified for PK-3 general education
- 195 applicants are certified for PK-12 special education
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Certified teachers who are new, returning, or from out of state are eligible for the bonus, which could be between $15,000 and $50,000 depending on experience and what school district they are in.
"For decades, Oklahoma has struggled to recruit and maintain quality teachers into the state. At this time last year under the previous administration, Oklahoma was losing teachers faster than could be recovered," Walters said. "This year however, we are one of the nation's leaders in teacher recruitment and have proved that when we combine private sector solutions with education, the biggest winners are parents and children. Oklahoma wants the best and brightest teachers from throughout the country to teach in Oklahoma, and the Teacher Recruitment Program is providing those results."
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