GASTONIA, N.C. – Two Gaston County educators will spend three weeks this summer interning at The Schiele Museum of Natural History as part of their 2021-22 Kenan fellowships. The educators, Katie Moore and Christie Stuckey, teach at Community Public Charter School in Stanley. Their fellowships were made possible through a partnership between the Kenan Fellows Program for Teacher Leadership at N.C. State University and the Schiele Museum, and are supported by the NC ACCESS Program.
The Kenan Fellows Program connects outstanding educators with mentors in local industry and business settings, creating opportunities that build meaningful relationships. The teachers are part of the 2021-22 Kenan Fellows cohort of 26 educators statewide, and they will receive leadership training to drive innovations in education and help students build career-ready skills. Teachers remain in the classroom while completing the yearlong fellowship. Educators who complete the program say they feel a deeper connection to their community and grow professionally as part of a statewide network of teacher leaders.
Located in Gastonia, NC, The Schiele Museum provides visitors with exceptional educational resources and opportunities for exploration since its founding in 1961. Through the generosity of Bud and Lilly Schiele, the museum began with a collection of animals and artifacts, and has expanded throughout the last sixty years to include a variety of exhibits, planetarium, nature trail, farm, and a Catawba Indian village. Accredited by the American Association of Museums and an Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, The Schiele is a leading destination for visitors to this region as a place to gather, learn, and have fun together. The Schiele’s mission to inspire wonder and appreciation of the natural world provides the region with a unique educational resource. At the Schiele, the Kenan Fellows will interact with education staff, curators and audiences to gain an understanding of how museum collections and resources can be used to create imaginative enrichment programs.
This is the second consecutive year that the Kenan Fellows Program has received grant funding from the NC ACCESS Program. Last year, the grant supported four educators from charter schools in Gaston and Mecklenburg counties. Another four charter school educators were selected again this year.