2024 Admissions Essay Rubric

Relay Teacher Programs Application Essay Question

The essay on your Relay application asks the following question:

Please respond to each of the questions below. Ensure that each response does not exceed 500 words so that the entire response is no more than 1500 words.

• What are your beliefs about what it means to be a culturally responsive educator?
• What are your beliefs about what it means to be an inclusive educator?
• How do your identities and experiences inform what you believe about being a culturally responsive and inclusive educator?

Evaluative Rubric

As part of your admissions requirements to the certification program, this essay is scored using a rubric.  The rubric evaluates the following 3 items:

• Mission Fit

• Discuss what is means to be an inclusive and culturally responsive educator and tie it back to Relay’s mission and the greater impact.
• Discuss Relay’s model, how it will make you an effective teacher, and how it will impact students.

• Communication of Thought

• How well the central idea is developed

• Sentence Structure and Grammar

• Level of sentence-level errors, use of punctuation/grammar

Please make sure to include all elements in your essay so you meet the minimum cut score for admission into our certification program.