Interested in becoming a teacher but worried about the cost of living while making your way through school? In addition to other forms of financial aid available to college students, the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority (HESAA, rhymes with "Lisa") recently began issuing $3,000 stipends to help make life more affordable for New Jersey college students currently completing their full-time clinical practice semester.

The Student-Teacher Stipend Pilot Program aims to make it easier for New Jerseyans to pursue a career as an educator by helping student-teachers with expenses such as housing, nutrition, health care, education, and more. Additional stipends will be issued for the Spring 2024 semester in the coming months.

More New Jersey teachers than ever before can now receive student loan relief under the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority's (HESAA) expanded New Jersey Teacher Loan Redemption Program. New Jersey residents teaching a pre-K through grade 12 class in either math, science, special education, world languages, English as a Second Language (ESL), or Career and Technical Education within an eligible school may be eligible for up to $20,000 in student loan redemption.

Teachers who meet all applicable criteria and are approved for this program can receive up to $5,000 per year in redemption for up to four years total. This program aims to not only help fill gaps that exist in certain school communities, but also offer affordability to teachers by easing the burden of student loan debt.

The application period for this program closes February 1st, 2024.