Did you know that CTA offers financial support to CTA members and their dependents throughout the academic year? One of the benefits of being an active CTA member is having scholarships, grants, and awards available to you and your dependent children. Some of the deadlines are quickly approaching. See the list of opportunities below and apply now!  

CTA Scholarships

Deadline: February 6, 2026

The CTA Scholarships offer scholarships in the following categories. Scholarship funds must be used for education-related expenses only.

Dependent Children

This program offers up to 56 scholarships of up to $5,000 each to a dependent child of an active member of CTA, CTA/NEA-Retired or a deceased CTA member and be claimed as a dependent on the member's current year's IRS form.

Dependent Children in Honor of Del A. Weber 

This program offers one scholarship of up to $5,000 to a dependent child attending continuation high school/alternative education program.

Members

This program offers up to 10 scholarships of up to $3,000 each to active members of CTA (including members working on an emergency credential).

CTA Aspiring Educators (CTA-AE) in Honor of L. Gordon Bittle Memorial

This program offers up to three scholarships of up to $5,000 each to active members of CTA-AE pursuing a career in public education.

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Scholarship

Deadline:  February 20, 2026

The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Scholarship Program encourages Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) students to become educators, school nurses, school counselors or school therapists and to promote professional growth for BIPOC educators and Education Support Professionals (ESP) members.

César E. Chávez and Dolores Huerta Education Awards Program

Deadline:  March 6, 2026

This award program provides recognition for educators and their students who demonstrate an understanding of the vision and guiding principles embraced by César E. Chávez and Dolores Huerta.

The NEA Foundation Awards for Teaching Excellence

Deadline:  March 13, 2026

The NEA Foundation Awards for Teaching Excellence recognize, reward, and promote both excellence in teaching and advocacy for the profession. The NEA Foundation (NEAF or the Foundation) and National Education Association (NEA) present the awards jointly.

LGBTQ+ Safety in Schools Grant & Scholarship Program in Honor of Guy DeRosa

Deadline:  May 29, 2026

The grant program will support groups, projects and presentations that promote understanding of and respect for LGBTQ+ persons. In addition, the scholarship program will support self-identified LGBTQ+ active CTA/CTA Aspiring Educators (CTA-AE) members enrolled in a teacher/counseling credential or graduate program who are pursuing a career in public education and who understand the importance of LGBTQ+ educators as role models in our public schools.

For questions, email scholarships@cta.org or ejd@cta.org.