Corey White (Class of 2010) was asked to answer the question, "How do you engage disengaged students to get them interested in learning?" His response was in the "Employees’ Point of View" section of Wake County Schools’ Education Matters monthly publication. His advice? "Students who are disengaged need a lot of R & R – Relationship & Relevance – to become engaged in the learning process…Courtesy and kindness, without patronization, go a long way in getting them interested in what the teacher is doing…" Corey teaches mathematics and robotics classes at Ligon Middle School.
Rebecca Hite (Class of 2010) has been elected to the Board of Directors of the North Carolina Science Leadership Association. The NCSLA provides opportunities for science educators at all levels to exchange ideas and information, promotes the cause of quality science instruction and influences the creation of policies and legislation. Rebecca teaches Biology and AP Human Geography and is the Burton Stuart Chair for Math and Science at Chapel Hill High School.
Kelly Allen and Briana Corke (both Class of 2008) have been selected as Educators of Excellence by the NC Museum of Natural Sciences. Briana will attend the Ecuador Culture and Ecology Institute, exploring the connections between environmental sustainability and poverty. Kelly will spend nine days in Belize at the Tropical Ecology Institute, learning about the connections between the tropics and North Carolina.
Briana Corke was also featured on WRAL TV as a Teacher of the Week. Her interview is available online.
Congressman David Price will sponsor the Keep Teachers Teaching Act, which will develop innovative programs to keep new and veteran teachers in the classroom. In a letter seeking support for the legislation, he refers to the Kenan Fellows Program as a model that is already working and could be replicated in other states.