063-Annual-Report-2023-v13 Final pages - Flipbook - Page 4
College of Education expands programming across the state
feedback. Teacher residents in the Pee Dee districts
will receive the $40,000 stipend and move from a
collaborative, co-teaching role in the classroom to an
increasingly responsible, lead-teaching role.
The College will also use a grant award from the South
Carolina Department of Education to cover all tuition
and associated costs for 36 career changers pursuing
a master’s degree in teaching from Clemson University.
The College’s “Grow Your Own” program works with
partner school districts to secure paid employment for
students as educational assistants while they complete
their degree entirely online.
The Tiger stands between Dean Gehsmann (left) and Laura
Eicher (right) as the College of Education celebrates the
expansion of teacher residency with students and partners.
Funding from the U.S. Department of Education
and the South Carolina Department of Education
has allowed the College of Education to expand its
programs across the state and ease the transition to a
degree in education for career changers.
The College’s teacher residency program has
expanded to school districts in the state’s Pee Dee
region thanks to a $2.39 million award from the U.S.
Department of Education. The project places 10
teacher residents in districts for four years, paying
a $40,000 living stipend during their residency year
when the students are placed with mentor teachers.
College leaders expect that most of the educators
taking advantage of this stipend will be those pursuing
a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) online from
Clemson. These students – often career changers
coming into education with a bachelor’s degree in
another field – will be afforded the same opportunity
as undergraduate students in the residency program
and enjoy the additional support of a mentor teacher
while earning their MAT degree.
The students will spend a full academic year of
residency with an experienced mentor teacher who
is specially trained to provide targeted support and
3 | College of Education
The Department of Education’s South Carolina Grow
Your Own (SC GYO) program addresses the need
to increase the teacher workforce in communities
throughout the state. The Department of Education
created the program to partner colleges and
universities with school districts to help aspiring
teachers pursue degrees in education.
The program will prioritize placing Master of Arts in
Teaching (MAT) students in programs that address
the highest needs across the state, such as middlelevel and secondary math and science teaching
positions. By hiring professionals already working as
assistants in schools – or those from other industries
with a strong desire to become teachers in home
districts – communities create motivated groups of
graduate students.
“We are essentially creating a satellite
Clemson location dedicated to teacher
residency in the Pee Dee, and making
the program more attractive to career
changers and those from other fields
who want to pursue a career in teaching
without interrupting their careers. Our
staff, residents and mentor teachers will
all be there to create the same high-quality
mentor-mentee relationship that positively
affects our residents, the schools in which
they train and the students they serve.”
Laura Eicher
Director, Teacher Residency Program
