CULLOWHEE — Thirty-six teachers from North Carolina and Virginia spent the week of June 22-26 in the mountain town of Cullowhee, and many of them left saying the experience changed how they see themselves as educators.

That’s the goal of the Summer Institute, which is the first of three professional development sessions the 2026-27 Kenan Fellows will complete this fellowship year. By the end of the fellowship, the teachers will complete 80 hours of professional learning.

The Summer Institute sets the tone for the year, and this one delivered rigorous sessions, meaningful connections, and moments that reminded everyone why teaching matters.

A Week Built by Fellows, for Fellows

Every session this week was planned and led by a Faculty of educators from the Kenan Fellows alumni network and program staff, who are also alumni. All people who have done the fellowship themselves and have come back to shape the experience for future cohorts.

That’s part of what makes Summer Institute different from standard professional development institutes. The people leading the room have sat in the same seats.

The sessions covered a variety of topics. In “From Fear to Fluency: Leading Your School’s AI Conversation,” Fellows explored how to lead human-centered conversations about AI. “Catching Lightning: Making Total Participation Classrooms Your Reality” dug into strategies designed to pull every student into the lesson, not just the ones with their hands up first.

“Finding Common Ground: Connecting the Arts, Social Studies, and STEM” looked at how the humanities can plug into STEM concepts, while “Beyond Four Walls: The Benefits of Outdoor Learning Opportunities” made the case for getting students to learn in nature.

Beyond Session Rooms

Some of the most powerful learning happened outside the meeting rooms, through place-based learning activities. Fellows took part in a scavenger hunt across the campus of the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching and a site visit to the Museum of the Cherokee People. At the museum, Fellows learned to make traditional cornhusk dolls in a session led by Nichole Efird, a Kenan Fellow alumna, a hands-on connection to place, history and culture.

“I absolutely feel like I will use so many techniques and strategies I learned throughout the week in my practice,” said Breanna Morris, a Rosman Elementary School art teacher in Transylvania County Schools.

She said one of her favorite sessions was learning to make the cornhusk dolls. “I would absolutely LOVE to connect with Nichole Efird about whether she would be willing to have a Zoom call with my art classes or potentially come visit and teach my 5th graders how to make their own corn husk dolls since she is close to my county.”

Leaving Inspired

Juana Rhili, a 1st-grade teacher at Guilford Elementary in Greensboro and the district’s 2025-26 Teacher of the Year, said is heading back to her classroom with a stack of new STEM and Project-Based Learning activities to try. She left the week impressed by how many classroom-ready resources were available. So many that she started ordering supplies online before the institute even ended.

“I have no words to describe the impact this week has had on me. I’m beyond grateful to have been chosen for this amazing experience,” Rhili stated. “I’m leaving inspired, re-energized and ready to lead meaningful change in my school and community.”

A special thanks to the members of our Kenan Fellows program faculty who helped make this institute possible. Meet the faculty and staff.