High Point University receives $18 million in federal grants for educator training programs
High Point University’s Stout School of Education has received two grants from the U.S. Department of Education to help prepare teachers and principals in the area, totaling $18 million in funding, according to a recent press release. The school received both the Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP) grant for $6.6 million and the Supporting Effective Educator Development (SEED) grant for $11.4 million, which is the “largest competitive grant that HPU has ever received.”
According to the press release, these grants can attract “hundreds of applications,” with very few — sometimes around 5% — receiving funding. The release described the university winning both grants as a “rare achievement.”
“Winning two highly competitive federal grants totaling $18 million is made possible by the strength of our partnerships with 17 local school districts and their superintendents,” said Dr. Amy Holcombe, dean of the Stout School of Education.
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The TQP grant aims to “recruit, develop, and retain” high-quality teachers in districts with “high poverty and high teacher turnover.” The grant will support the preparation of 105 teachers and principals in local districts.
Specifically, the grant will provide the funding for 60 educators to complete a Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.) in elementary education or special education, earning their N.C. teaching license. It will also allow for 45 students to earn a Master of Education in Educational Leadership degree and their North Carolina principal licensure.
“Receiving this highly competitive Teacher Quality Partnership Grant affirms High Point University’s commitment to preparing exceptional educators and school leaders,” Holcombe said.
“This grant award gives us the opportunity to prepare 105 aspiring teachers and school leaders while strengthening the pipeline of talented professionals prepared to serve our local schools,” she continued. “I am tremendously proud of the faculty and partners who brought their expertise and vision to this work, and I look forward to seeing this grant’s impact extend far beyond our campus and into our classrooms and school communities.”
The SEED grant will support the education of 300 educators at the Stout School of Education, with 150 completing an M.A.T. and earn their N.C. teaching license and another 150 entering the university’s graduate certificate program for school administrators.
Students in the Stout School of Education’s undergraduate teacher licensure programs recently earned a 100% pass rate for a fifth consecutive year on edTPA, the national licensure assessment. “Students in the M.A.T. programs also achieved a perfect pass rate on the exam,” says the release.
Growing your own
The grants received by the Stout School of Education will benefit the school districts in and around High Point University, as the grants are focused not just on training educators, but retaining them.
“(The support from these grants) will provide strong school leaders to the region and strengthen the overall quality of education in North Carolina,” says the release.
According to the Learning Policy Institute, North Carolina had 2,155 unfilled teaching positions during the 2025-26 school year and 3,142 during the 2024-25 school year.
After his “Mo Wants to Know” tour, State Superintendent Maurice “Mo” Green put together several recommendations for priorities for N.C. public schools, some of which address these teacher shortages. One of his priorities was to develop teacher pipeline programs, including “creating ‘grow your own’ initiatives.”
In recent years, many programs throughout North Carolina have increasingly focused on recruiting and training educators from specific regions of the state who will stay and work as educators there.
“These awards reflect what can happen when universities and school districts work together around a shared vision for strengthening education,” Holcombe said in the High Point release. “Together, we are building stronger pathways into the profession, developing exceptional educators and leaders, and investing in the future of education across our region.”
