The Golden Apple Accelerators Program provides a path to teaching for career-changers and college seniors who commit to living and teaching in targeted school districts in Illinois for four years after obtaining their teaching license.
The Accelerators program was designed to meet the teacher shortage crisis head on by recruiting, preparing and mentoring college seniors and non-educators with bachelor’s degrees in Illinois looking to make a difference in classrooms right in their communities.
The Accelerators application is currently closed. If you have a question about the program, contact our team via the button below.
Benefits
Obtain a teaching license within 15 months
Tuition and fees at one of Golden Apple’s partner universities/colleges.
Stipend of $10,000 for additional education expenses
One-year residency and training program in a targeted partner school district
Pursue coursework and earn credit at a partner university
Job placement in a partner school district; begin teaching full-time in Fall 2025
Instruction from award-winning educators
Mentoring in the first years of teaching
Eligibility Requirements
College seniors attending universities or colleges who are not currently on a teaching pathway
Career-changers who hold bachelor’s degrees
Illinois residents, U.S. citizens, eligible non-citizens, or Illinois Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) students who live in or are from communities in Illinois
Able to commit to working in an Accelerator partner school for four years after program completion
