Teaching Fellows Commission Selects 5 Institutions in North Carolina

Raleigh, N.C. – The North Carolina Teaching Fellows Commission announced it selected five partner institutions this week based on legislative criteria and an applications process passed into law by the state House of Representatives.

The commission named Elon University, Meredith College, North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte as institutions that received the highest score based on a full evaluation and review of applications to host the program.

Deputy House Majority Leader Stephen Ross (R-Alamance), who represents Elon University, released a statement:

“I want to congratulate Elon for being selected as a private institution to participate in the new North Carolina Teaching Fellows program,” Ross said.

“Elon began the very first Teaching Fellows program at a private institution in North Carolina and has maintained a strong commitment to the program for more than two decades.”

Elon and the other four institutions were selected based on passage rates for licensure exams, internship and preparatory opportunities, and teacher-education standards.

The Teaching Fellows scholarship offers up to $8,250 per year of loan forgiveness for students who commit to teach in special education, technology, science and math programs.  The program’s mission is to attract great teachers to low-performing public schools.

“The Teaching Fellows program is a key addition to our teacher appreciation agenda,” said House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland). 

Speaker Moore highlighted the new Teaching Fellows program in his recent opinion column ‘Education Reforms for North Carolina’s Future’ in the Shelby Star.

“Thanks to four consecutive pay raises for North Carolina teachers, the statewide average salary is $50,000 while starting teachers earn $35,000,” Moore wrote.

“This year, we had the fastest growing teacher pay in the nation since 2014.”