Jessica AsKew wants to be a changemaker for education — not just in the classroom, but also in the political arena. As part of her preparation, Jessica is coupling a degree in peace and conflict studies with her major in elementary education. When she talks about her deep belief in creating positive change for the American public education system, you can hear the resolve in her voice.
“I envision myself in Washington, D.C. as a lobbyist for the NEA (National Education Association) or in Congress or the Senate. Even living in that big White House,” she says with confidence. “I want to make an impact in the big game of politics all in the name of education.”
Bright and determined, Jessica is the perfect example of the high-caliber students UNCG has selected for its first class of Teacher Education Fellows Program. The program might sound familiar. It’s not the first time that UNCG had a campus-based scholarship and enrichment program aimed at developing the teacher. Though successful, the previous program was defunded. Fortunately, private funding has made it possible to bring back the program, and in an even stronger context.
“One positive outcome of the state’s decision to defund the original program was that it gave UNCG the opportunity to think creatively about the best that the program had to offer and the ways that it could be improved to reflect some of the greatest challenges facing communities and schools today,” says co-creator Dr. Jennifer Stephens, whose partner in the effort is Dr. Sam Miller.
The new program places a greater focus on leadership potential and global engagement of future teachers, who will be charged with preparing students for ever-changing and sometimes unpredictable futures. For students like Jessica, the theme of “teacher as servant leader in a global context” informs seminar curriculum and co-curriculum, provides internship experiences at schools with diverse and multi-national student populations, and requires study abroad experience.
Jessica is getting ready to head to Glasgow, Scotland. Her voice perks up even more when she talks about her upcoming trip in January, when she will travel for a semester to the University of Strathclyde. “The study abroad component was one of the main factors that drew me to the Teacher Education Fellows program,” she says.
The first phase of the new program is funded through the generosity of the Marian Franklin Scholarship, the Jacqueline W. & Jack H. Varner Scholarship, the J. Barnwell & Mary Blair Allison Scholarship, and the Sarah Cole Jordan Endowment. As new endowment and scholarship funds are contributed, the UNCG Teacher Education Fellows Program will continue to expand, adding more students and activities.
“We began with 22 freshmen and sophomore Fellows in 2015-16, with a goal to reach capacity (44) by 2017-18,” says Associate Dean Dr. Jewell Cooper. “However, our long-term goal is to be able to support scholarships and programming for 80 to 100 Teacher Education Fellows because this is such a strong vehicle for continuing the pipeline of teacher recruitment and development.”
The cultivation of future education leaders, like Jessica, is critical. “I want to have a role. I have no fear of pushing up my sleeves and getting involved in politics to make it happen. I want to move forward the things I feel are important in education,” she says.
“If, at the college level, we can bring opportunities like Teacher Education Fellows forward, we stand a good chance of bringing more teachers back to the state.”
Read about Teacher Education Fellow Abigail Kidd.
Written by Andrea Spencer