Caroline Gregerson of Geneva, Illinois, who graduated from Hope College in May, has been named one of only 43 Woodrow Wilson Indiana Teaching Fellows for 2016.
The highly competitive program recruits both recent graduates and career changers with strong backgrounds in science, technology, engineering and mathematics—the STEM fields—and prepares them specifically to teach in high-need secondary schools. The program is offered at five Indiana universities: Ball State University, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Purdue University, University of Indianapolis and Valparaiso University.
Gregerson graduated from Hope with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry and a minor in mathematics. She will attend Purdue University.
The Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowship focuses on preparing top-quality educators for many of Indiana’s most underserved public schools. Each Fellow receives $32,000 to complete a specially designed, cutting-edge master’s degree program based on a yearlong classroom experience. In return, Fellows commit to teach for three years in the urban and rural Indiana schools that most need strong STEM teachers. Throughout the three-year commitment, Fellows receive ongoing support and mentoring.
“Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellows are the future of teaching in Indiana, and we are proud to welcome these 43 teachers into this important effort,” Woodrow Wilson President Arthur Levine said. “Across the nation, states are using the Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowship to transform their teacher education programs to meet the needs of the 21st-century classroom. That work, and that model, began in Indiana.”
“Woodrow Wilson Indiana Teaching Fellows embody commitment, excellence, and success here in the Hoosier State,” Levine said, noting that Indiana Teaching Fellows are 1.9 times more likely to remain teachers in Indiana’s public high-need schools, compared to non-Fellow teachers. “With Indiana Teaching Fellows currently serving as teachers of record in nearly half of Indiana’s 92 counties, these Woodrow Wilson Fellows are having a meaningful, positive impact on thousands of Indiana students, and they will continue to change lives for years to come.”
Ninety percent of Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellows have earned certification in a STEM field, compared to just 20 percent of non-Fellow peers in the state.
The Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowship partners with a wide range of schools across the state, including Anderson Community School Corporation, Fort Wayne Community Schools, Gary Community School Corporation, Indianapolis Public Schools, Metropolitan School District of Decatur Township, Metropolitan School District of Lawrence Township, Metropolitan School District of Perry Township, Metropolitan School District of Warren Township, Metropolitan School District of Washington Township, Metropolitan School District of Wayne Township, Michigan City Area Schools, Muncie Community Schools, Portage Township Schools, Purdue University Rural School Network, School City of East Chicago, Thea Bowman Leadership Academy, Kankakee Valley School Corporation, and Merrillville Community School Corporation. It also works with charter schools such as Charles A. Tindley Accelerated School, Christel House Academy, Herron High School, Lighthouse Academies, and Indianapolis Metropolitan High School.
This is the eighth year of the program, which the Woodrow Wilson Foundation administers through the generous financial support of Lilly Endowment Inc., and the Indiana STEM Teacher Recruitment Fund Grant program. Indiana is one of five states that has offered the Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowship, along with Georgia, Michigan, New Jersey and Ohio.
Founded in 1945, the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation (woodrow.org) identifies and develops the nation’s best minds to meet its most critical challenges. The Foundation supports its Fellows as the next generation of leaders shaping American society.
More information on the national program can be found at: woodrow.org/fellowships/ww-teaching-fellowships.