A new scholarship program aims to recruit new teachers in Lenoir and Greene counties with free college tuition and licensure within a year of enrolling.

The Rural Teaching Fellows Initiative, sponsored by North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NC A&T) and a $2.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education, will license 150 teachers in Lenoir, Greene and Bertie counties over the next five years. Beginning in January, each county will recruit and enroll 10 teachers every year until 2011.

The scholarship hopes to train new high school math, science and exceptional children’s teachers, three fields which public schools have the hardest time recruiting teachers for.

We need some teachers in all areas, but it’s hardest to find teachers in those areas said “Greene County Schools Personnel Director Raymond Smith. If you look at the state and where we need teachers, those three are always at the top of the list.”

Working students with a bachelor’s degree in the fields of math, science or exceptional children should be able to complete licensure requirements within one year. Future teachers have their tuition books and fees paid for, but must teach for three years in one of the three counties to pay back the state. A laptop computer is also provided by the program

The deadline for application and enrollment through school districts” personnel offices is Nov. 29.

A second year of courses is optional and paid for by the participant but the licensed teacher would be able to earn a masters degree in teaching.

Anthony Graham, an assistant professor in the NC A&T school of education and a Kinston High School graduate, designed the grant program to be able to give back to schools systems close to home.

“I come home every two or three months, and I see whats going on in the schools, Graham said. “The same thing is going on statewide: We’re looking for warm bodies to put in the classroom. I’m a product of the public school system in Kinston, and I’ve done extremely well, but I had quality teachers who had the skills necessary (to teach me). I want to make sure we keep that same high quality in our rural schools.”

The scholarship program will have a tremendous impact on Greene County Schools, which normally fills a vacancy of about 10 teachers each year. The district currently employs 142 core-subject teachers.

“It would be wonderful to have good local folks become highly qualified teachers and come and stay with us,” said Greene County Schools Superintendent Steve Mazingo. “This is a chance to grow your own teachers in hard to fill areas, and it’s an outstanding deal for someone looking to change careers.”

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