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As a continued part of Michigan’s efforts to grow and diversify the educator workforce and reduce educator shortages, the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) is excited to continue the Future Proud Michigan Educator (Future PME) Campaign with grants for Local Education Agencies, Public School Academies, and Intermediate School Districts.
and/or
APPLICATION OPENING SOON!
The 2025-2026 EXPLORE grant application is expected to open in late June, 2025 and close in August, 2025.
Award Period: October 1, 2025 – September 30, 2026
Start planning: See the contents of this year’s application and plan your entries with the downloadable application template available here. This Word template will show you the information needed to apply for funds that will build and sustain EXPLORE programs, provide tuition grants to eligible EXPLORE graduates, or both. It will also help you keep a record of what you entered for your official application in NexSys.
Tip: Prior to the application opening, applicants are encouraged to confirm their organization’s Level 5 authorized user and have an itemized budget with explanations ready to enter into NexSys. Applicants who have trouble with the application interface or with identifying a Level 5 user can reach out to MDE-NexSys-Applications@Michigan.gov during business hours.
Note: Grant funds are conditioned upon final approval of FY 26 State of Michigan budget appropriations. However, districts are invited to apply prior to final budget approval to allow districts enough time to complete the grant application process and reduce delays in award.
The Office of Educator Excellence (OEE) would like to congratulate all awardees of the Section 504 EXPLORE Grant.
OEE has developed a separate webpage that lists all grant awardees: 504 EXPLORE Award Listings. In addition, the link to the most recent award announcement can be found here: 504 EXPLORE press release.
These grants jointly aim to combat teacher shortages and to promote a diverse and representative teacher workforce by incentivizing cohesive systems of support for future educators. Through this grant, we will encourage models that enable a district’s students – especially demographically representative and historically marginalized populations – to see the recruitment and retention process to its end: from exploration and preparation, to early employment and clinical practice, to returning to the district as a certified teacher.
*Current supports for aspiring educators include: Michigan Achievement Scholarship, Michigan Reconnect (which begins only at age 21); MI Future Educator Fellowship (which begins only upon EPP enrollment) and MI Future Educator Stipend (which is only available to student teachers). Candidates who begin their pathway at a community college or at an educator preparation institution that requires pre-program coursework for EPP program admission cannot yet access these dedicated financial supports.
For EXPLORE Graduates-as-Staff:
No. Applicants are welcome to apply for one or both grants.
Local education agencies (LEAs), intermediate school districts (ISDs), and public school academies (PSAs). Individual educators are not eligible applicants; they are encouraged to inquire with their building or district administration about submitting a grant application.
Candidates will need to be employed in part-time or full-time roles in which they are supervised by a district employee. Examples include before/after care staff, tutor, teaching assistant, summer school staff, etc.
A candidate can be enrolled in any Michigan institution with an approved teacher preparation program OR in any Michigan 2-year college with an articulation agreement for traditional teacher certification. If you are unsure about the existence of an articulation agreement, please contact the educator preparation program in which the candidate intends to enroll.
Awardees will submit reimbursement requests, which they will subsequently receive via State Aid.
No. This grant is intended to remove the barriers for young people as they work toward teacher certification, so there is no penalty for candidates who decide not to teach or to teach in a location that is not their home district. Applicants are encouraged to select candidates mindfully, with full confidence that the candidates have the disposition and potential to successfully fill open positions in the future.
No. The district must pay the employee.
Yes. Districts are expected to use this opportunity to support candidate retention in and completion of an educator preparation program. As such, districts should prioritize employment situations that offer candidates mentorship, feedback, training, or coaching. Further, districts should prioritize employing candidates in settings that will allow them to develop skills that lead to successful classroom teaching. The most successful applicants will offer candidate retention supports (or leverage supports offered by colleges and universities) such as: dedicated staffing for college transition and success, program advising to clarify credit requirements, supplemental meetings to build rapport with other future educators, or career counseling.
a. Yes, if a student is attending a community college outside of the local community college in order to access an articulated education pathway.
b. Yes, if there are costs that are not covered by free community college that can be covered by 504. For example: program fees, testing fees, substitute permit costs.
