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The North Carolina Teaching Fellows Commission has selected 530 teaching fellows for the 2025-26 academic year — the highest number of awards since the program’s return in 2017, and six of those are residents of Stanly County.
The Teaching Fellows program is a competitive, merit-based forgivable loan program providing tuition assistance of up to $10,000 per year for qualified students committed to teaching elementary education, special education, science, technology, engineering, or math in a North Carolina public school.
Amy Anderson of Albemarle, Lily Anderson of Albemarle, Brianna Jordan of Albemarle, Addison Marks of Richfield, Se’Shaun Swindell of Badin and Addison Whitley of New London were chosen among this year’s honorees.
The purpose of the program is to recruit, prepare and support future teachers who attend institutions of higher education in North Carolina and agree to work in the state’s public schools.
Those named as fellows may attend any of the program’s 10 partner institutions pending institutional admission: Appalachian State University; East Carolina University; Elon University; Fayetteville State University; North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University; NC State University; Meredith College; University of North Carolina at Charlotte; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and University of North Carolina at Pembroke.
The NCTF commission received a total of 809 completed and screened applications during this academic year. The commission considered grade point average, leadership and experience, awards and honors, written essays, and educator recommendations to offer the 530 awards. The total includes 199 early-window awards earlier this academic year.
“We are thrilled about the continued growth and interest in the Teaching Fellows program. The recruitment activities by our program and campuses, in conjunction with targeted efforts to recruit more high need areas in the state, led to the record number of applications and awards,” said Dr. Bennett Jones, director of the North Carolina Teaching Fellows. “We are grateful for the support of lawmakers and educational leaders across the state as we continue to recruit, train, prepare, and place high quality teachers in North Carolina.”
The 530 awards represent a 15% increase from the 462 awards offered last year and a 481% increase from the initial year after the reinstatement of the program in 2017. The awardees feature 268 high school seniors, 234 college transfer students including 29 from the state’s community colleges, and 28 licensure-only students who are currently teaching in North Carolina schools. Overall, 30% of the recipients in the class of 2025 are minority candidates, up by 5% from last year. Award recipients hail from 81 North Carolina counties and 13 states. Finally, 344 of the recipients intend to study elementary education, 78 are to study special education, and 108 will pursue licensure in the areas of STEM education.
The North Carolina Teaching Fellows Commission is comprised of four deans from educator preparation programs, a community college president, a beginning teacher, a principal, a member from business and industry, and a local school board member. The NC Teacher of the Year, Principal of the Year, Superintendent of the Year, chair of the State Education Assistance Authority Board of Directors, and director of the Teaching Fellows Program all serve as ex officio members of the commission.