Teaching Fellows Bring Opportunities to Record Number of Awardees
When the General Assembly restarted the state’s teaching fellows program, it started off small: just five institutions could accept students through the program, and only students pursuing teaching degrees focused on STEM and special education could apply.
But in the eight years since it relaunched, the program has grown to 10 colleges, including some of the biggest teacher preparation programs — like those at North Carolina State University, Appalachian State University, and East Carolina University. It has also expanded to encompass applicants interested in elementary education.
Perhaps not surprisingly given this growth, the program just announced its largest class. The North Carolina Teaching Fellows Commission recently picked 530 teaching fellows for the 2025-26 academic year.
“We know the need is there, and it’s important for us to invest,” said Bennett Jones, director of the North Carolina Teaching Fellows, in an interview. “For us it’s really about how do we recruit people into the programs, how do we train and support them while they’re in the programs, and how do we place them.”
He said it’s about supporting teachers across the continuum of their preparation and early teaching experience. The more the program can recruit, the better experience it can provide, the more likely it is to create high-quality teachers who can help recruit the next crop of fellows.
Fulfilling a Need
A program like this is particularly important in a time when schools across the country and the state are experiencing teacher shortages. According to recent data from the State Department of Public Instruction, the attrition rate for teachers in North Carolina of 9.9% is “higher than North Carolina’s average rate of 8.6% over the last seven years and is higher than any rate over those years other than 2022-23.”
At the same time, there was an 18% decline in people completing education preparation programs in the state in 2024, and that’s after years of falling enrollment in the programs.
The Teaching Fellows program seeks to address the teacher shortage with a forgivable loan program that gives tuition assistance of up to $10,000 a year for students who qualify. For each year a fellow gets tuition assistance, they can repay it through one year of teaching in a North Carolina public school.
It is administered by the University of North Carolina System Office, in conjunction with the State Education Assistance Authority (NCSEAA) and the Teaching Fellows Commission.
“NCSEAA works with the NC Teaching Fellows Program to disburse funds to schools on behalf of students,” said Kevin Lineberry, deputy director of higher education at NCSEAA. “We are proud to play our part in supporting innovative, high quality financial aid programs and activities that help address critical workplace labor shortages.”
Bringing Teachers to the Classroom
Kayla Womble has wanted to be a teacher for as long as she can remember, but without the Teaching Fellows program, it wouldn’t have been possible. She said she comes from a low-income household, and though her family wanted her to go to college, they weren’t sure it would be possible to send her to a four-year institution.
“Teaching Fellows was really that pivotal moment for me. ‘Oh my gosh, I can go to college. I can afford to go,’” she remembers thinking.
Her graduation from the program is imminent, and she will be taking a job teaching 7th Grade math and science at Holly Ridge Middle School in Holly Springs, the school where she did her student teaching.
Sophia Satkowiak was in the program from 2022-24 when she was training to become a special education teacher at NC State. She now teaches in Johnston County Schools. She knew she wanted to be a special education teacher ever since she helped work with that population of students during high school.
“I wanted to change the narrative for special education and advocate for the students to achieve their full potential, because they’re capable of more than people set out for them,” she said.
She heard about Teaching Fellows when a representative from NC State came and talked to her high school Future Teachers of North Carolina class. She credits the program with giving her the confidence to pursue her passion.
“It really helped to continue to support me to do special education,” she said. “It’s a daunting task to go into teaching special education…knowing that I had the support of the Teaching Fellows program and people who believed in me and my abilities helped motivate me.”
If you want to hear more about this opportunity and join Kayla and Sophia in the classroom, check it out at North Carolina Teaching Fellows | TeachNC |
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The North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority (NCSEAA) is the state agency that has been helping North Carolinians pay for education since 1965. NCSEAA administers financial aid and savings programs, helps students and families understand how to make paying for college more manageable, and provides resources for education professionals about financial aid.
