ROCKINGHAM — Three Richmond County students are among the 522 from across and outside of the state who have committed to participating in the North Carolina Teaching Fellows program during the upcoming academic year.
The local students accepted are Campbell Gross of Hamlet, and Riley Brown and Tatum Watson of Rockingham.
The Teaching Fellows Program, according to a press release issued May 6, is a “competitive, merit-based forgivable loan program providing tuition assistance of up to $10,000 per year for qualified students committed to teaching elementary education, special education, science, technology, engineering or math in a North Carolina public school.”
The loans are forgiven once the recipients meet state teaching requirements — one year of teaching in a N.C. public school for each year the award was received, according to the release.
The number of acceptances is up from 498 last year and brings the total number of active fellows to around 1,250 in the next year — a 340% increase from four years ago — the release states.
Of those accepted, 345 plan to study elementary education, 93 will study special education, and 84 are interested in STEM education, according to the release.
“The sustained growth of the NCTF Program is exciting for the future of education in North Carolina and is a result of strategic recruitment activities with our partner institutions, local school districts, and collaborations with other state agencies to enhance the teacher workforce pipeline,” Dr. Bennett Jones, director of the North Carolina Teaching Fellows Program, said in the release. “We are grateful for the continued support of lawmakers and educational leaders across the state as the NCTF Program is poised to lead efforts in the recruitment, preparation, and support of future teachers in North Carolina.”
There are 10 partner colleges, with eight being public and two being private:
