Bowie State University Receives Grant for Displaced Federal Workers

Maryland Higher Education Commission Funds Program

 

(BOWIE, Md.) — Bowie State University has been awarded a $50,000 Teacher Quality and Diversity Program (TQDP) grant from the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) to provide displaced federal workers and conditionally licensed teachers with an accelerated pathway to earn professional certification. 

The funds will be utilized to promote the university’s Master of Arts in Teaching program for former federal employees interested in transitioning to a career in teaching, as well as conditionally licensed teachers seeking programs to obtain teaching licensure. Candidates in this program have the option of pursuing a master’s degree in elementary or secondary education. Students must complete 42 credit hours for the master’s degree in elementary education, while 36 credit hours are required to earn the master’s in secondary education. 

“We’re also going to use the funds to build and strengthen the program,” said Dr. Peter Parker, assistant professor in the College of Education. “Our bottom-line focus is on supporting the needs of federal workers who are changing their careers to become educators.” 

In addition to students earning master’s degrees in elementary and secondary education, they can also earn an English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) certificate. In Maryland, there’s a significant need for ESOL services in K-12 education. 

"Maryland continues to experience an acute teacher shortage,” said Parker. “At the beginning of the 2024-2025 academic year, the state began with 1,619 teacher vacancies. In some school districts, there is also a critical shortage of teachers in specialized areas, such as ESOL. Students who receive training in these critical areas are highly sought after by various school districts in Maryland."

Addressing Maryland’s teacher shortage also has implications for several aspects of the 2021 Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Act. 

“One of the key components of the Maryland Blueprint is to bring high-quality and diverse teachers into public education,” said Parker. “In addition, the Maryland Blueprint requires 40% of teachers’ work time to be designated to non-teaching time (e.g., collaborative time). This increase in collaboration is meant to provide additional support for teachers to further develop classroom instruction and materials to better meet the needs of their students and ultimately achieve higher academic outcomes. Grants such as the TQDP greatly support Bowie’s teacher-preparation programs in helping meet these goals.” 

Bowie State is one of 11 colleges and universities in the state that received up to $100,000 of the $1 million grant announced by Governor Wes Moore last month to help displaced federal workers transition to teaching careers while helping to reduce the teacher shortage. 

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About Bowie State University
Founded in 1865, Bowie State University is the first Historically Black College/University (HBCU) in Maryland and one of the ten oldest in the country. Bowie State has earned the ‘Research College and University’ designation in the 2025 Carnegie Research Activity Classification. As a leading institution of higher learning, Bowie State offers more than 65 bachelor's, master's, doctoral and certificate programs across arts and sciences, technology, business, education, healthcare and related disciplines. The university provides high-quality and affordable educational opportunities in a supportive environment that empowers students to think critically, make new discoveries, value differences and emerge as leaders in a highly technical, rapidly changing global society. For more information about Bowie State University, visit bowiestate.edu.

MEDIA CONTACT: David Thompson, dlthompson@bowiestate.edu, 301-860-4311