Arkansas Teacher Corps Introduces Second Group of Fellows

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansas Teacher Corps at the University of Arkansas introduced its second group of fellowship recipients at a reception in El Dorado on Thursday, June 5.

The 20 Arkansas Teacher Corps Fellows will go through six weeks of intensive training this summer and begin teaching in high-need schools in south, central and northeast Arkansas in August. The program also provides ongoing development for each Fellow throughout the school year for the entirety of the program. Each Fellow will receive a $15,000 stipend, paid over three years, in addition to their teaching salary from the school district that hires them.

This is the second year for the program established by the College of Education and Health Professions. The second cohort of 20 Fellows will undergo training in El Dorado, the site for the 2014 Arkansas Teacher Corps Summer Institute. El Dorado is also a new partner district that will employ Fellows for the 2014-15 school year.

The program addresses teacher shortages in high-need districts based on shortages in both geographic areas and specific content areas. District officials have noted the difficulty of finding enough qualified candidates to teach in content areas such as mathematics and science as well as the difficulty of attracting qualified teachers to low socioeconomic areas of the state.

These are the fellowship recipients, with their hometowns and educational background; their school assignments will be made this summer:

• Mary Beth Breshears, Little Rock, bachelor’s degree, studio art, Hendrix College, 2014
• Hannah Bridges, Clarksville, bachelor’s degree, English, Ouachita Baptist University, 2014
• Christopher Collier, Hot Springs, bachelor’s degree, political science, Hendrix College, 1981
• Stephen Curtis, Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, bachelor’s degree, fine arts and ceramics, East Carolina University, 2007
• Davona Hall, Little Rock, master’s degree, public administration, Bellevue University, 2013
• Wyatt Hamilton, North Little Rock, bachelor’s degree, history, University of Louisville, 2012
• Allison Hampton, Paragould, bachelor’s degree, education, Arkansas State University, 2014
• Victoria Hilliard, Fordyce, bachelor’s degree, biology, Hendrix College, 2014
• Shiloh Hurd, Washington, Oklahoma, master’s degree, biomedical engineering, University of Arkansas, 2013
• Emily Jackson, Dierks, bachelor’s degree, chemistry, Henderson State University, 2014
• Venesha Jackson, Lothian, Maryland, bachelor’s degree, science education, Bowie State University, 2008
• Amber Keefer, Jonesboro, master’s degree, education, Arkansas State University, 2014
• Alana Kennedy, Memphis, Tennessee, bachelor’s degree, Christian studies, Ouachita Baptist University, 2014 
• J Keith, Malvern, bachelor’s degree, public relations, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, 2013
• Sarah McNeal, Fayetteville, bachelor’s degree, Latin American studies and Spanish, University of Arkansas, 2014
• Taylor Mott, Jennings, Louisiana, bachelor’s degree, Spanish, University of Louisiana Monroe, 2013
• Radiance Peterson, El Dorado, bachelor’s degree, biology, University of Arkansas, 2014
• Meredith Rowlett, Mountain Home, bachelor’s degree, graphic design, Harding University, 2014
• Jeremy Schulze, Bryant, bachelor’s degree, psychology, Hendrix College, 2014
• Adrian Williams, Gravel Ridge, bachelor’s degree, biology, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, 2014

The program is currently working in several partner schools and school districts including Clarendon, Dermott, Forrest City, Hope, KIPP-Delta, Premier- Little Rock, Prescott, and Pulaski County Special. The 2014 cohort will also be teaching in several new partner districts including Covenant Keepers-Little Rock, Dollarway, El Dorado, Fordyce, KIPP-Blytheville, Lighthouse Academies-Jacksonville, and Texarkana. The Fellows will work with mentors during the Summer Institute and throughout the school year. Gary Ritter, holder of the Twenty-First Century Chair in Education Policy, developed the program with Smith and Brown and will serve as faculty director of the program.

Arkansas Teacher Corps has the support of the Arkansas Department of Education and collaborates with school districts and community organizations. Funding for the program has been made available through collaboration between the College of Education and Health Professions, the Walton Family Foundation, the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, and the Women’s Giving Circle at the University of Arkansas. The program is also supported by individual donors through the Arkansas Teacher Corps Society.