South Carolina Teaching Fellows Meet U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan
May 9, 2012
Future teachers tour Washington, D.C. as part of their Sophomore Experience
ROCK HILL, SC – MAY 9, 2012 – Teaching Fellows from South Carolina metwith U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan in the nation’s capitalduring Teacher Appreciation Week as part of their “SophomoreExperience,” an enrichment activity that enhances the advancedpreparation Fellows receive for a career in the classroom. This year theTeaching Fellows campus directors at six institutions took theirsophomores to Washington, D.C. to visit historical landmarks, the U.S.House of Representatives, U.S. Senator Jim DeMint, and the U.S.Department of Education.
“This trip provided the Teaching Fellows with an opportunity to learnabout our country’s history and to influence the future of educationthrough the RESPECT conversation,” said Jenna Hallman, Teaching FellowsProgram Director.
While visiting the Department of Education, Fellows participated in aconversation about Project RESPECT (Recognizing Educational Success,Professional Excellence and Collaborative Teaching), an initiative bythe U.S. Department of Education designed to gather input from teacherson education reform.
“It is such a privilege that the Fellows from several institutions inSouth Carolina were able to be a part of a project that the U.S.Department of Education is doing,” stated Lynn Dowd, Teacher FellowsCampus Director at Newberry College. “It was quite an honor.”
The conversation was one of 100 RESPECT conversations taking placenationwide. The sessions are led by 16 active classroom teachers calledTeaching Ambassador Fellows, temporary employees in the U.S. Departmentof Education. The input given will be used to fine-tune the proposed $5billion competitive program announced earlier this year.
“Getting to meet the Secretary of Education was a really neatexperience,” said Rebecca Mills, a sophomore at USC-Upstate. “Giving ourfeedback on a project that we might actually be a part of in the futurewas great.”
The South Carolina Teaching Fellows Program was established in 1999by the General to address the need to recruit high quality teachers forSouth Carolina’s classrooms. Teaching Fellows receive up to $24,000 overfour years to pursue a degree in education at one of 11 TeachingFellows Institutions across the state. While participating in theProgram, Teaching Fellows receive advanced professional development,partner with businesses and communities, and explore opportunities torefine their leadership skills. A Fellow agrees to teach one year in aSouth Carolina public school for each year he or she receives theFellowship.
There are currently Teaching Fellows serving in 75 different schooldistricts across the state of South Carolina. Of the 261 TeachingFellows who have satisfied their loan through service, 84.7% are stillteaching.
Teaching Fellows are identified through a rigorous selection processthat includes an online application, an interview in front of threeeducators, and a written response to an education-related topic. To beeligible for the Program, students must be a U.S. citizen, a SouthCarolina resident, and a current high school senior.
The program became the first winner of the Dick and Tunky RileyWhatWorksSC Award this past October. The award honors highly effectiveeducation initiative in the state.
About The South Carolina Teaching Fellows Program
The mission of the South Carolina Teaching Fellows Program is to recruittalented high school seniors into the teaching profession and help themdevelop leadership qualities. Each year, the program providesFellowships for up to 175 high school seniors who have exhibited highacademic achievement, a history of service to their school andcommunity, and a desire to teach in South Carolina.
Teaching Fellows participate in advanced enrichment programs atTeaching Fellows Institutions, have additional professional developmentopportunities, and are involved with communities and businessesthroughout the state. They receive up to $24,000, in yearlyscholarships (up to $6000 a year for four years) while they complete adegree leading to teacher certification. The scholarship provides up to$5700 for tuition and board and $300 for summer enrichment programsadministered by CERRA (contingent on funding from the S.C. GeneralAssembly). A Fellow agrees to teach in South Carolina one year for everyyear he or she receives the Fellowship.
About The Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement
CERRA is the oldest and most established teacher recruitmentprogram in the country. The Center for Educator Recruitment, Retentionand Advancement, established by the Commission on Higher Education inDecember 1985 and funded by the South Carolina General Assembly, enteredits 26th year of operation in 2011-2012. Following the passage of thestate’s landmark Education Improvement Act, CERRA was created out of aconcern for the condition of South Carolina’s teacher supply pool and aneed for a centralized teacher recruitment effort.
CERRA’s agenda is a comprehensive one in which the Center sponsors avariety of programs for increasing the number of students in theeducation pipeline and recruiting and retaining qualified, caring, andcompetent teachers. The Center’s primary target groups are middle andhigh school students, college students, and adults interested inchanging careers.
CERRA also targets groups of accomplished teachers through programsincluding mentoring, teacher leadership and National BoardCertification. The network of educators in our programs overlaps inpowerful ways to increase the level of collaboration for recruitment,retention and advancement of South Carolina educators. For moreinformation about CERRA, visit www.cerra.org.
