Recruitment Programs Featured in What Matters Most: Teaching for America's Future (1996)
Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois
Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois recruits and trains 100 promising young people into the teaching profession each year. The students are nominated during their junior year of high school and are selected during their senior year. Scholars are mentored through their college years and their first five years of teaching. For four consecutive summers, the students attend intensive summer institutes, teaching in Chicago classrooms and attending classes dealing with leading-edge education ideas. The Scholars program provides $28,000 in scholarship loans, contingent upon agreeing to teach for five years in a high-need Illinois school, and partners with 35 colleges and universities throughout Illinois. This program was created and involves participation by winners of the Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching, a program that recognizes ten outstanding educators each year.
Navajo Nation/ Ford Foundation Teacher Education Program
This program is a joint effort of the Navajo Nation and the Ford Foundation, established in 1992. Since then, the Navajo Nation Teacher Education Program has expanded to serve undergraduate and graduate students who want to be teachers and educational administrators. The Navajo teachers are recruited and prepared through a consortium of thirteen colleges and universities. Participants receive financial assistance to complete their college degrees and education training part-time, with academic advisement and support. Participants in the program are Navajo-speaking teacher aides, certified Navajo teachers, and post-baccalaureate students. The goal is to help students on reservations balance their experiences and learning in both Navajo and American worlds. The project is moving to focus on recruiting more of their students into secondary level teaching, particularly in high-need areas such as science and math.
North Carolina Teaching Fellows Program
North Carolina Teaching Fellows has recruited 5600 high-ability high school graduates into teaching to date, including significant numbers of young men and teachers of color. Students agree to teach for four years in the state's public schools in exchange for a $26,000 four-year college scholarship, which underwrites their preparation. Fourteen colleges and universities in the state participate in providing intensive year-round learning experiences that extend beyond regular teacher education courses. North Carolina principals report that the Fellows far exceed other new teachers in their performance, and the Fellows themselves give high marks to the preparation they receive in instructional methods and the teaching of diverse students.
South Carolina Teacher Cadet Program
Launched in 1986, the South Carolina Teacher Cadet Program is part of the South Carolina Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement. The Cadet program's primary goal is to encourage academically able students who possess exemplary interpersonal and leadership skills to consider teaching as a career. Cadets enroll in a year-long course on teaching in which they study cognitive learning, child development, education history, and pedagogy. They engage in seminars, group projects, and discussions with educators. They observe classrooms, teach practice lessons, and tutor other students during an internship that simulates student teaching. Approximately 35% of Cadets enrolled for the 1999-2000 term have indicated plans to pursue gaining teaching credentials in South Carolina. Many of them have plans to teach or are teaching in high-need rural areas and in critical shortage fields.
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