Students thinking about careers in education were encouraged to explore the possibilities of the Assumption Program of Loans for Education, which still has awards available according to officials.

The APLE program is available for students who plan to become teachers and who have enrolled in a program that will lead to a credential.

Sac State APLE Coordinator Elizabeth Christian said students have a large amount of time during which they can apply for the award.

“They just need to apply before they are done with the credential program. As long as they know they are going into teaching they can apply for it anytime from their junior year all the way until they are almost done with the program,” Christian said.

The APLE program aims to give teachers rewards for entering into the areas of public education with the most need.

According to the official guidelines of the program, a teacher must complete a minimum of four years in either a shortage field, schools with students who are mostly from low income families or who are in the bottom 50 percentile of the Academic Performance Index, or schools in rural areas.

The APLE guidelines also state that graduates, who teach in science, mathematics or special education are eligible for an additional $1,000 for each year taught, up to four years.

Teachers employed at a school in the lowest 20 percentile of the State’s API are also eligible for an additional $1,000.

According to an email recently sent to students, there are still approximately 2,000 awards available this year.

Christian also said that each summer every university is given its allotment for the year; by the time students are finishing up the credential program almost every award is used.

Students interested in obtaining applications and can apply for APLE by clicking here.

Amanda Pollard can be reached at [email protected].