'Rolling out the red carpet': New Bay Mills Community College partnership helps students

SAULT STE. MARIE — A new Bay Mills Community College partnership will pay for hundreds of students to become early childhood educators in tribal communities.

This October, Bay Mills Community College (BMCC) partnered with Head Start, a national program designed to help early childhood educators get their degrees.

The program connects BMCC to Head Start programs in different tribal communities across the country, allowing for people currently working to finish their degrees more easily.

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People currently working at one of the five partnering programs in the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians Early Childhood Program, Hannahville Tribal Head Start, Mississippi Choctaw Head Start Program, Seneca Nation Early Childhood Learning Center and Aleutian Pribilof Island Head Start Program qualify.

Students can receive support through mentor programs, tuition assistance, scholarships, textbooks and even laptops to be used for schoolwork.

"This grant really targets removing a lot of those barriers that can be challenges for people to look at going to school," said Heather Stelzer, chair of the BMCC Early Childhood department. "Between the scholarships and incentives, there really shouldn't be any out of pocket expense to do this."

The grant will cover the program starting this year for the next five years, awarding the funds once each year. This year, BMCC received $642,675 in funding awarded by the Administration for Children and Families.

The early childhood education program consists of a bachelor's degree and an additional one-year certification class. BMCC is the only tribal college to provide the bachelor's degree program entirely online for non-local students.

Scholarships of up to $500 can be won by the first new or returning students to apply for the program to help with other related expenses.

"This grant is like rolling out the red carpet when you think about equitable learning experiences," said Stelzer. "It's quite an amazing opportunity."

— Contact Brendan Wiesner: BWiesner@Sooeveningnews.com

This article originally appeared on The Sault News: Bay Mills Community College partnership helps students finish degree