NC State: Home to Largest Teaching Fellows Cohort in N.C.

The NC State College of Education welcomed 54 new students to its North Carolina Teaching Fellows program this fall — the largest entering cohort in the state.

These new fellows join 20 other NC State students who composed the first cohort of Teaching Fellows at NC State since state legislators re-established the program in 2018. With 74 total Teaching Fellows, NC State is home to the largest group of Teaching Fellows in North Carolina by more than double the size of the next school.

“NC State is now preparing nearly a third of all Teaching Fellows in North Carolina,” said NC State College of Education Dean Mary Ann Danowitz. “This reflects the hard work of our faculty and staff to recruit some of the best students to our college and to the field of education, as well as the growing awareness that our college prepares some of the best and most effective educators in the state. It is an honor for future teachers to entrust us in preparing them to become extraordinary educators.”

The 74 Teaching Fellows at NC State come from 35 counties in North Carolina. They include undergraduate, transfer, Master of Arts in Teaching and licensure-only students who are studying across 12 programs in NC State’s College of Education and College of Agriculture and Life Sciences that lead to teaching licensures in the fields of science, technology engineering, mathematics or special education.

“Our Teaching Fellows at NC State are among the best and the brightest and have been a part of student council, athletic teams, National Honor Society and other prestigious programs at their high schools and colleges,” said Crystal Espey, coordinator of the Teaching Fellows at NC State program. “I look forward to working with them as we build our community at NC State and to prepare the best educators for classrooms in North Carolina.”

The NC State College of Education is one of five institutions in North Carolina that hosts a North Carolina Teaching Fellows Program. Students who apply and are accepted into the program receive up to $8,250 per year in forgivable loans if they commit to teach in the fields of STEM or special education in the North Carolina public schools. The application cycle for the 2020 cohort opens Oct. 1.

“The program at NC State offers numerous opportunities for personal and professional growth,” Espey said. “Through a statewide retreat, social events, professional development and other enrichment opportunities, we become more than community support — we become a family.”