The average Teachers College student graduates with $44,000 in unpaid undergraduate and graduate school debt. It's a heavy burden, especially considering that these students are entering the field of education. Two organizations have stepped up in the past few years to ease that burden.

The Jewish Foundation for Education of Women (JFEW) was founded to assist Jewish immigrant girls on Manhattan's Lower East Side. The LCU Foundation was founded to provide residences for Christian women newly arrived in New York City. Both have since become grant making organizations that provide financial aid to young women on a non-sectarian basis for education and housing in New York City.

JFEW's latest grant, given in February 2004, provides $252,000 for nine scholarships over three years for female students studying math or science education. In return, the students commit to teach for two years in the New York City public schools after they graduate.

For each of the past two years, the LCU Foundation has provided $75,000 in grants for female TC students who are enrolled in a master's program that will lead to teaching certification.

Published Wednesday, Apr. 20, 2005