CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The North Carolina Teaching Fellows Commission has selected Fayetteville State University, North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University and University of North Carolina at Pembroke to serve as additional partner institutions for the North Carolina Teaching Fellows Program.
The three universities were selected based on the criteria outlined in state law, including educator effectiveness, impact on student learning, passage rates for required licensure exams and early, frequent internship experiences for educator prep students, among other factors. In addition, the North Carolina General Assembly directed the commission to focus specifically on an institution’s ability to foster and promote a diverse teaching workforce.
“Building a more diverse teacher corps is crucial for North Carolina. Welcoming Fayetteville State, North Carolina A&T and UNC Pembroke into the Teaching Fellows Program will make a real difference in classrooms across our state, inspiring a rising generation of students and addressing persistent gaps in opportunity and achievement in our schools,” said UNC System President Peter Hans. “North Carolina’s HBCUs and minority-serving institutions have a proud history of serving their communities and tackling some of our biggest challenges as a state. I’m glad to see that tradition continue in partnership with the NC Teaching Fellows.”
The mission of the NC Teaching Fellows Program is to recruit, prepare and support students attending North Carolina’s top education programs for preparation as highly effective STEM or special education teachers in the state’s public schools. Fellows will receive up to $4,125 per semester in forgivable loans if they commit to teach in science, technology, engineering and math or a special education area. The program is specifically designed to attract high-quality teachers to underperforming schools by offering an accelerated loan forgiveness schedule for teaching fellows who agree to teach in a low-performing school in North Carolina.
The NC Teaching Fellows Program also includes the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, North Carolina State University, Elon University and Meredith College.
Since 2018, approximately 300 fellows have participated in the program.
The North Carolina Teaching Fellows Commission is comprised of four deans from educator preparation programs, teachers, principals, a member from business and industry and a local school board member. The NC Teacher of the Year, NC Principal of the Year, NC Superintendent of the Year, chair of the State Education Assistance Authority (SEAA) Board of Directors and director of the NC Teaching Fellows Program all serve as ex-officio members of the commission.
North Carolina Teaching Fellows Program highlights:
- The amount of the forgivable loan is up to $4,125 per semester.
- Teachers have up to 10 years to pay back the loan, either through cash repayment or loan forgiveness.
- In order to meet the loan forgiveness requirement, a teacher must serve one year in a low-performing school or two years in another public school for every year a loan was awarded.