Bakersfield Student Teachers Among First to Receive New $10,000 State Stipend

For three years after graduating from college, Vanessa Perez put her dream of becoming a teacher on hold. She was eager to earn her teaching credential, but the financial burden stood in her way.

At the heart of her dilemma was a challenge faced by aspiring teachers across California. Student teaching has traditionally required hundreds of hours of classroom training without pay, all while candidates continue to shoulder the costs of tuition, credentialing and everyday living expenses.

Eventually, Perez moved to Bakersfield to live rent-free with her mother and stepfather so she could return to school. Now, while completing her student teaching at McKee Middle School in the Greenfield Union School District, she delivers food, walks dogs, house-sits and looks for seasonal work to help make ends meet.

“I get worried that I won’t make deadlines to pay for items because I am waiting for the next paycheck to come,” she said. 

That financial equation is about to change.

Perez and fellow student teacher Melissa Aguilera, also completing her clinical practice at McKee Middle School, have been approved to receive $10,000 each through California’s new Student Teacher Stipend Program, which is being rolled out statewide this fall.

Perez already knows where much of her stipend will go. There is the $3,000 loan she took out to help cover this semester’s tuition. There are expenses she has put off while stretching each paycheck. And there is money she hopes to set aside for the day she finally has a classroom of her own.

Renee Whitney, Greenfield Union School District’s Administrator of District Programs, helped guide the district’s participation in the new program and shared news of the funding with its teacher residents.

“When Ms. Whitney informed us of the stipend, I had to hold back tears,” Perez said.

Meanwhile, Aguilera understands the financial strain Perez described. Like Perez, cost delayed her path to the classroom. After earning her bachelor’s degree, she took time away from school to work and save for the credential program.

“Without the stipend, I would be continuing to tap into my savings to pay for certain bills and necessities,” Aguilera said. 

Student teacher Melissa Aguilera conducts a lesson in a sixth grade classroom at McKee Middle School.

California has committed $708 million to fund the Student Teacher Stipend Program through 2032, including $300 million in 2025-26 and another $408 million in 2026-27. The funding is expected to support approximately 12,500 teacher candidates each year. Beginning in 2027-28, candidates preparing to teach in designated high-need fields, including science, math and special education, may qualify for an additional $5,000.

Unlike many financial aid programs, candidates do not apply for the stipend themselves. Their credential preparation program and participating school district handle the process once student teaching begins.

Whitney said the process was intentionally designed to place little administrative burden on student teachers, many of whom are already juggling classroom hours, coursework, jobs and family responsibilities.

For Greenfield, the stipend is also an investment in developing future educators.

The district partners with CSU Bakersfield on two teacher residency programs and hosts traditional student-teaching placements. Whitney said Greenfield has seen firsthand the value of preparing prospective teachers on its own campuses. Some candidates come from the community, while others develop a connection to Greenfield and its students during their clinical practice.

“This is a great opportunity for students considering entering the teaching profession, but who are facing financial barriers,” Whitney said.

With some of that financial pressure lifted, Perez and Aguilera can focus more fully on the reason they entered the profession in the first place.

Aguilera grew up surrounded by educators who shaped her own ambitions, including her mother, who has been a teacher for more than 15 years.

“I hope I can take a piece of every teacher in my life and apply it to my future students to make an lasting impact,” Aguilera said.

Perez originally went to college intending to become a veterinarian because she wanted a career that allowed her to help others. Eventually, memories of two teachers who had influenced her in third and sixth grade helped lead her toward education instead.

“Initially I told myself that my number one goal in life when pursuing a career was to help the world; whether that’s working with animals or people, I wanted to simply exuberate good energy upon others,” Perez said.

Now, each day she walks into a sixth-grade classroom at McKee Middle School, that decision is reinforced.

“The days are long and can be a workload,” Perez said. “But when you do what you love and have so much support all around, it really does not feel like a job.”

Vanessa Perez is a student teacher at McKee Middle School.