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Applications open for teacher loan repayment program

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Applications open for teacher loan repayment program

Mississippi has opened applications for first-year teachers to apply for loan repayment funds on a first-come, first-serve basis with priority given to those in districts with a teacher shortage. 

The Office of Student Financial Aid will award up to 150 first-year, full-time teachers through the William Winter Teacher Loan Repayment Program, which was created by the Legislature in 2021. The program makes loan repayment awards to teachers for up to three years. 

Awards are paid to teachers at the end of the school year, and the amount will vary depending on a teacher’s school district. First-year teachers with a valid, five-year state educator’s license who work in a geographical critical shortage district will receive $4,000 in loan repayment, while teachers who do not will receive $1,500. 

A school district is declared a geographical teacher shortage area if it has 60 or more teaching positions and 10% or more of them are not appropriately licensed. Not appropriately licensed includes teachers teaching out of field, teachers teaching with no certificate, and long-term substitutes.

A school district with less than 60 teaching positions becomes a geographic shortage area if 15% or more of their teaching staff isn’t appropriately licensed.

Second-year teachers who received funds last year are also eligible to reapply. Second-year teachers in geographical shortage districts will receive $5,000 in loan repayment; those in a non-shortage area will receive $2,500. 

The deadline to apply is Sept. 15. 

To qualify, teachers with undergraduate loans must be graduates of a regionally accredited university and cannot be delinquent or in default. 

Teachers who have received funds from other state loan programs targeting the education profession – such as the Critical Needs Teacher Forgivable Loan Program, the William Winter Teacher Forgivable Loan Program, or the Teacher Education Scholars Forgivable Loan Program – are not eligible. 

Teachers who don’t qualify might be eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness, according to OSFA’s website. 

The William Winter Teacher Loan Repayment Program was proposed by Sen. David Blount, D-Jackson, last year as a way to ameliorate the state’s current teacher shortage. It replaced a slew of loan programs targeting teachers that the Legislature had created in the 1990s but left unfunded in recent years. 

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Mississippi News

Events happening this weekend in Mississippi: December 20-22

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www.wjtv.com – Kaitlin Howell – 2024-12-20 12:03:00

SUMMARY: This weekend (December 20-22), Mississippi offers a variety of festive events. In Jackson, enjoy Food Truck Friday, candlelight concerts, a Grinch movie screening, and Journey to the North Pole. In Ridgeland, experience Merry Bingo, Christmas on the Green, and Fleet Feet Coffee Run. Vicksburg hosts Rock the Halls, while Natchez offers a European Christmas Shopping Village. Other activities include Santa scuba diving at the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, Million Dollar Quartet Christmas, and Magic of Lights in Brandon. Hattiesburg features Lights of the Wild and Teddy Bear Tea with Santa. Numerous holiday events are available across the state.

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Mississippi News

Attorneys seek protective order in Jackson bribery case

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www.wjtv.com – Kaitlin Howell – 2024-12-19 14:36:00

SUMMARY: Prosecutors in Jackson are seeking a protective order to prevent the release of sensitive information in a bribery case involving Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens, Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba, and City Councilman Aaron Banks. The motion aims to protect personal, financial, and grand jury information, fearing it could impair investigations and fair trial rights. The three officials face charges related to a bribery scheme involving $80,000 in bribes for approving a real estate development project. Other individuals, including former City Councilwoman Angelique Lee and Sherik Marve Smith, are also implicated, with Smith pleading guilty to conspiracy.

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Suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO struggles, shouts while entering courthouse

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www.wjtv.com – MICHAEL R. SISAK and MARK SCOLFORO, Associated Press – 2024-12-10 14:27:00

SUMMARY: Luigi Nicholas Mangione, a 26-year-old Ivy League graduate, was arrested in Pennsylvania and charged with the murder of Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare. Mangione, who expressed disdain for corporate greed and the health insurance industry, was found with a gun matching the murder weapon and fraudulent IDs. He initially gave false identification but was recognized at a McDonald’s. Mangione, who wrote a three-page document expressing anti-corporate sentiments, is being extradited to New York. His family, shocked by his arrest, expressed condolences to Thompson’s family. Mangione had no prior criminal complaints but had a history of severe back pain.

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