School District Supporters

The Kenan Fellows Program Teacher Leadership offers a Teacher Leader Cluster model (TLC) for school districts to form a leadership team that addresses a district’s needs.

Educators selected to participate in a TLC are Kenan Fellows who complete their fellowships as part of a statewide cohort. A collaborative funding model involving the school system, industry donors, or community foundations supports these TLCs.

TLCs support scalable and sustainable outcomes:

  • Inspire and train teacher peers, creating a ripple effect across the school system
  • Lead within the district as a leadership and advocacy team, in partnership with the administration
  • Enhance relationships between schools, businesses, parents, and community members

Kenan Fellows in TLCs:

  • Develop and implement the district-wide plan or project
  • Create resources that integrate their new industry knowledge and understanding of local businesses into the classroom
  • Create resources that correlate workplace skills with STEM-curricular standards
  • Share the created project and resources district-wide

Want to learn more?

Contact Mark Townley, associate director, at matownle@ncsu.edu.

Impact of District TLCs

Biogen Foundation Teacher Leader Cluster with Durham Public Schools

Five Career Technical Education (CTE) teachers in Durham Public Schools were selected as 2021-22 Kenan Fellows to participate in the Biogen Foundation Teacher Leader Cluster. The educators designed and launched a website for fellow Durham teachers to introduce their students to various biotechnology and life science career pathways. The site features a career corner, lesson plans, and classroom resources.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Teacher Leader Cluster with Duke Energy and South State Bank

Five CMS teachers were selected as 2021-22 Kenan Fellows to help realize the vision of increasing socioeconomic mobility and promoting community advancement. The educators designed and launched a CMS Computer Science Student Pathways website that vertically aligns middle and high school curricula for students in the Charlotte area to help them visualize computer science and information technology careers. The website highlights workforce development skills required for students to work towards a promising career in their local community.

Biogen Foundation Teacher Leader Cluster with Greene County Schools

Four Greene County Schools mathematics teachers worked with district leaders to develop instructional resources that better-aligned classroom content with workforce skills to strengthen the school system’s STEM pipeline. The teachers also worked on vertically aligning the district’s K-8 math curricula.