Students and graduates from Elon University, North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina State University and other partnering North Carolina Teaching Fellow institutions gathered in Alumni Gym to celebrate their seniors, network and enjoy dinner with their mentors and classmates.
Bennett Jones, the NC Teaching Fellows state director, was originally a K-12 teacher and then principal, always passionate about advocacy for education. Having been a teacher himself, he understands how much teachers need resources and support.
“Instead of complaining about lack of teachers and lack of resources, I wanted to be part of the solution,” Jones said, “NC Teaching Fellows is not just a loan forgiveness program, it is the preparation, the found community, the extracurriculars and curricular enhancements that you gain from being a team fellow”.
Jones was the keynote speaker for the North Carolina Teaching Fellows’ inaugural statewide graduating student celebration at Elon University on April 18. Partnering institutions, alumni, state level stakeholders, and those who have supported the program were in attendance. The NC Teaching Fellows program provides up to $10,000 a year in forgivable loans for students who commit to teaching elementary education, special education, or a STEM field in a North Carolina public school after graduation.
The organization was founded in 1889, and was reestablished in 2017 to address North Carolina’s low numbers of teachers and educators. Elon is 1 of 10 partnering institutions that has the program once it was reinstated. Ann Bullock, dean of the Dr. Jo Watts Williams School of Education, says Elon was accepted because of its high outcomes of preparing educators in its undergraduate program.
“Students do not just go into this with thoughts of becoming a teacher. They join because they are teachers with a mission and a purpose that is bigger than themselves,” Bullock said, when opening the event.
Under the leadership of Erin Hone, director of the Teaching Fellows Program, and Brittany Roberts, assistant director of Teaching Fellows, a recruitment plan was created to increase the number of North Carolina Teaching Fellows and assist in the decrease of debt that education students commonly graduate with.
Roberts is also an NC Teaching Fellow alumna and was on the planning committee for this inaugural celebration. As an alumna, she says she understands the importance of preparing students to become active teachers who can handle differing districts, students and ever-changing technology.
“If you are thinking of becoming a Teaching Fellow, don’t be intimidated. The program wants the brightest but also those who are passionate about the profession as well,” Roberts said.
Luna Aldana ‘27, an elementary education major, was attracted to the program not only because of the financial benefit but also due to the on-campus opportunities to interact with other NC Teaching Fellows, seasoned teachers and children. Professional development opportunities and resources like the youth mental health training offer Aldana and other fellows a new way to adapt to future generations’ teaching.
“When you are teaching math, or science, it sometimes skips your mind about your students’ mental health and what they are experiencing at home. So, to have training on how to assist with that can really improve your teaching style,” Aldana said.
According to Bullock, it is Elon University’s goal to continue growing student interest and contribution to the NC Teaching Fellows program and further train North Carolina’s future educators.