They thought they were in trouble. A cryptic email from UW-Green Bay’s Director of Education read, “Your presence is requested,” calling a small group of Education majors to a faculty meeting late in the semester. Director Tim Kaufman said he was trying to build intrigue, but responses from concerned students made him give up the plot. Not long after, a second email landed: “Congratulations… you’ve been chosen by the faculty to be one of the recipients of a $1,000 student teaching stipend.”
“I was a little freaked at first,” recalled one student recipient, Lindsey Seaquist, “but being recognized felt really good.”
This fall, Seaquist and 10 other UW-Green Bay Education majors will receive $1,000 stipends to offset the costs of unpaid student teaching. That support comes from donors to the 2025 Give Big Green Bay (GBGB) fundraising drive, organized by the Greater Green Bay Community Foundation. During the drive, 101 donors contributed $31,985 to support the Education program. “We’re so appreciative and thankful,” said Kaufman, adding that the community is, “pushing forward and preparing the teachers of tomorrow.”
After GBGB, faculty had to decide how to best put the funds to use. They pointed to the financial barriers of full-time student teaching placements. Student teaching is the capstone experience for Education students. They put their skills to use in a real classroom under the supervision of a working teacher. It’s a full-time gig for half of the school year.
And it’s typically unpaid. While students in other academic disciplines, like Business and Engineering, are discouraged from taking unpaid internships, Education majors are essentially required to.
“You basically take on the role of the teacher … but for free,” Seaquist said. The costs stack up fast, she added, noting that even small, regular expenses start to become worrisome when the costs chip away at savings (or go on credit cards) over months. She pointed to her assignment, an elementary school in Pulaski, which is a 20-minute drive from her house. Gas is expensive, she said, “If you don’t have an income, how are you going to afford that?”
“We wanted a reimbursement that would be substantial,” Kaufman said, “and one that could be awarded across multiple semesters to keep momentum going.”
The stipend is also a reminder that students have the community’s support. Seaquist, who is also pursuing a master’s with an English as a Second Language emphasis to better serve multilingual learners, said she was moved by how much Green Bay gave. “The generosity from the community… is incredible,” she said. “It’s going to help a lot of student teachers.”