We are statewide force for teacher leadership and growth in North Carolina.
Investing in Teachers, Strengthening Communities.
When we commit to teachers’ growth with intention and care, students, schools and communities benefit in measurable and lasting ways. That belief drives everything we do at the Kenan Fellows Program for Teacher Leadership, and it’s why we treat teacher professional learning as a statewide priority.
Our professional development programs and services invest in teachers as trusted leaders. Our immersive experiences place them inside the industries and regions shaping communities today.
Teachers bring that learning and those relationships back into their classrooms, expanding students’ views of career pathways and what’s possible for their futures. Learn more about our work.
90%
Of educators remain in the classroom five years after completing our fellowship.
100%
Of educators said they developed the skills to work with industry and community leaders.
100%
Of educators said the fellowship made them better teachers.
“This has been the best professional development I have ever experienced. The instruction is relevant and the environment is constantly positive, productive and inspiring.”
Teaching Grows Stronger Through Community Partnerships
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Teachers are essential leaders of North Carolina’s future. When we invest in them as trusted, skilled professionals, they reinvest their learning back into our students, schools and communities, expanding what’s possible for our state.
Thanks to @dukeenvironment Marine Lab and @ncstate Environmental Education Lab, @buncombeschools teacher Kerri Hampton will help expand the Ready, Set, Resilience Program in Western NC.
Ready, Set, Resilience is a middle school program that draws on lessons from nature to help students navigate personal and communal hardships, such as the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
Please join us in welcoming Kerri to our 2026-27 cohort of Kenan Fellows, and thanking Duke Marine Lab and the EE Lab at NC State for their continued support of teachers.
Each day for the past week, we have been spotlighting our individual 26-27 Kenan Fellows, their projects, and their supporters.
Please join us in celebrating two teachers from opposite ends of the state who will be working to illuminate career pathways in their regions.
Emily DiNoto of @darecountyschools will collaborate with TCOM, L.P., a global leader in lighter-than-air platforms and elevated awareness solutions. Her project will give her an inside look at the many career pathways available to students in this specialized and growing industry.
Breanna Morris of @transylvaniaschools with @ncsusciencehouse to develop PD and curricula. Her fellowship will also connect to the Kenan Fellows Program’s NC Resiliency initiative, which supports efforts to gather resources for a teacher support package in the wake of Hurricane Helene.
Special thanks to the Kenan Institute for Engineering, Technology & Education Board of Trustees and the Kenan Fellows Program for Teacher Leadership Board of Advisors for their generous support.
![Headshot of Erin with quote: "[T]his program will not only be self-fulfilling in my personal quest to expand my own learning but also incredibly beneficial to my 5th-grade scientists."](https://kenanfellows.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/390/2026/05/Harden-Fellowship.png)
