Do you want to become an outstanding teacher in the great state of Wisconsin? If you said yes, we hope you will consider taking the UW-Madison School of Education Wisconsin Teacher Pledge. Are you in?
How to Take the Teacher Pledge
Explore and find out which teacher education program is right for you. Not sure? Undergraduate Advising and the Career Center can help.
Now you’re ready to apply to the School of Education! Once you’ve been accepted, watch for an important email with instructions for enrollment and more.
I’m Taking the Teacher Pledge
So, you’re ready to take the Teacher Pledge!
The good news: there is no application to participate in the Teacher Pledge program. You just have to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
Need help filling out the FAFSA?
After your FAFSA has been completed and submitted, you will receive notification of your financial aid offers — including the Teacher Pledge.
Need more information about your financial aid offer?
Note: Teacher Pledge offers for the summer term are made separately from fall/spring offers.
Once you receive a Teacher Pledge offer, your next task is to complete the three required steps to accept it.
The Teacher Pledge program will check that you have completed all necessary steps. If you forgot something, you will be notified.
I Took the Teacher Pledge
You took the Teacher Pledge. What’s next?
- Continue progress toward and completion of your teacher education program.
- Complete your FAFSA for each academic year that you are enrolled in a teacher education program.
- Participate in Teacher Pledge activities as requested (e.g. research, surveys, etc.).
Congratulations, you made it to graduation!
You just completed your teacher education program and graduated. Now what?
- Complete your online Teacher Pledge loan exit interview with the Bursar’s Office.
- Obtain your Wisconsin teaching license through the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI).
- Work an at-least 75% full-time (0.75 FTE) teaching position at a PK-12 Wisconsin school for three to four years over the five-year post-graduation period.
- Complete Teacher Pledge student surveys and other research-related requests.
How do I report my employment?
- You can expect to receive an employment verification survey (via email) in the second week of June, annually, for five school years after you graduate. This survey will ask you to confirm the details of your previous year’s employment.
- For example, if you graduated in Fall 2023, Spring 2024, or Summer 2024, you will receive your first employment verification survey in June 2025 to verify your School Year 2024-2025 employment.
- This survey will not be sent to your @wisc.edu email — please update your contact information here.
- The subject line of the survey email is “UW Madison Teacher Education Alumni Verification.” It will be emailed to you by Will Huth, MKTEC Data Reporting Specialist.
- For each year you report an at-least 75% full-time qualifying teaching position at a PK-12 Wisconsin school, a percentage of your Teacher Pledge loans will be forgiven — no further action required.
- We require all Teacher Pledge alumni to complete the employment verification survey annually for five years after graduation, regardless of employment status. If you do not complete the employment verification survey annually, you may not be eligible for Teacher Pledge loan forgiveness.
Upon completing your teaching commitment, you will receive notification stating that your Teacher Pledge loan has been fully forgiven!
Don’t forget to keep in touch!
We can’t wait to hear all about your teaching joys, surprises, and challenges. Are you interested in sharing your experience with us? Reach out to Teacher Pledge Program Manager Carly Marco at cmarco@wisc.edu.