Give 4 Garnet 2023

The Apple Core Initiative is designed to recruit, enroll and retain South Carolina high school students from historically underrepresented populations into the teacher education programs at the University of South Carolina to fill both capacity and diversity voids in South Carolina public schools.

The Apple Core Initiative Story

As the state of South Carolina continues to experience an underrepresentation of Black teachers, the Apple Core Initiative was created to help close the racial gap in the teaching profession in state and beyond. As a flagship institution, the College of Education at the University of South Carolina honors its responsibility to address the state’s needs and respond to the university’s goal of cultivating access, equity, diversity and inclusion. The college proudly touts the Apple Core Initiative as a signature recruitment and retention program that will achieve these aims.

Students in the Apple Core Initiative receive a yearly $3,000 scholarship, a coach to guide and support them as they adapt to campus life, professional development experiences and opportunities to travel within the state and nation to study the profession in different contexts.  

Since its inception in 2018, the Apple Core Initiative boasts a 90 percent retention rate. Participants report that the Apple Core Initiative Scholarship reduces their financial burden relating to tuition, purchasing school materials and cost-of-living expenses while allowing them to be more engaged in campus life and focused on academic activities. The Apple Core Initiative eases students’ transition into college and reduces obstacles in their pathway to success.