Programs train students to teach encourage

One of Charles Patton's students wanted to work for Chick-fil-A after graduating high school. Now, the student has a new goal — to be the first in his family to attend college.

I had a lot of kids who didn't know that there were options"" said Patton, a North Carolina Teaching Fellow who graduated from UNC in 2006 and got a master's degree in education in 2007.

North Carolina Teaching Fellows is one of a growing number of programs training college students and recent graduates to be teachers.

The programs place new teachers in educationally underrepresented public schools across the nation.

Teach for America, whose application deadline is today, is the most well-known of these programs. The organization currently employs 6,200 teachers nationwide — most straight out of college.

Participants in Teach for America commit to teach for two years in rural or urban public schools. The schools are in impoverished neighborhoods where students have few educational opportunities.

A lot of these kids sometimes come from homes where they're not encouraged"" said Ramsey Bowman, a 2007 UNC graduate, who teaches for Teach for America in Rocky Mount.

Bowman is one of 329 Tar Heels who have participated in Teach for America as of this month. In 2008, 42 UNC seniors were accepted to the program.

The North Carolina Teaching Fellows program annually gives 500 four-year scholarships to North Carolina high school seniors. Scholarship recipients agree to teach four years in a North Carolina public school after college graduation from an in-state school.

It felt weird to commit" as a senior in high school to being a teacher for four years after I graduate" said Will Lamb, a North Carolina Teaching Fellow at UNC.

Tracy St.Dic, a 2007 UNC graduate, is completing her second Teach for America year in Brooklyn, N.Y.

You really just jump right in"" she said.

But not all teaching programs are exclusively for college graduates.

In the summer of 2008, Saurabh Aneja, a UNC senior from Raleigh, participated in Summer Teaching Fellows, a program that recruits rising college seniors to teach in charter public schools in New York City. The charter schools emphasize to students the importance of attending college.

I would always tell them nice things about college like" ‘I don't have class until 1 p.m."'"" Aneja said. ""Maybe I gave them an alternative perspective on why college is so great.""

A common goal of these teaching programs is to close the achievement gap in the nation's public education system.

Senior Erika Reese recently committed to Teach for America in Baltimore.

""I'm excited about making a change"" Reese said. She's curious to explore the obstacles facing students in public schools.

Above all, those participating in teaching programs reported a strong connection with their students.

I'm hoping that they'll always know you need to go to college" St.Dic said. You need to do well in school" because that's how you're going to be able to do whatever you want in your life.""



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