12 Educators Selected to Receive $10,000 in Launch of the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching’s 2024 Fellows Program
June 24, 2024
Phoenix (June 24, 2024) — The National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET) is excited to announce its inaugural NIET Fellows Program cohort, comprised of 12 outstanding educators from across the country. These educators will learn alongside NIET in a one-year program to deepen their knowledge of instructional best practices to more effectively support the work taking place within and beyond their school and district.
“I’m excited to recognize these exceptional educators as our inaugural NIET Fellows Program cohort,” said NIET CEO Dr. Joshua Barnett. “We selected 12 outstanding educators from nearly 250 applicants across the nation. Through this fellowship, these exemplary teacher leaders will elevate their skills to drive instructional improvement and student learning growth.”
The NIET Fellows Program consists of dynamic teacher leaders from schools nationwide who demonstrate educator excellence and a proven ability to advance student success. This year’s selected fellows are listed below:
- Laura Hershberger, Avondale Elementary School District, Arizona
- Paloma Peralta Carrillo, Gadsden Elementary School District #32, Arizona
- Stephen Prince, Cross County School District, Arkansas
- Sarah Phillips, Perry Township Schools, Indiana
- Latonzia Beavers, Natchitoches Parish Schools, Louisiana
- Jessica Carmean, Jefferson Parish Schools, Louisiana
- Erica Faust, Ouachita Parish Schools, Louisiana
- Emily McLellan, Iberville Parish Schools, Louisiana
- Jessica Ockman, Ascension Public Schools, Louisiana
- Kelsey Brown, Laurens County School District 55, South Carolina
- Haley Wood, Warren County Schools, Tennessee
- William Mock, Somerset Independent School District, Texas
As part of the fellowship, each will receive a $10,000 stipend, participate in professional development activities designed to enhance their leadership capabilities, and develop content for NIET’s national conferences throughout the year. Each fellow will also shadow NIET’s team locally to advance their coaching skills to more effectively support educators in their own schools and districts.
To be eligible for the NIET Fellows Program, applicants must be a teacher leader and have at least five years of classroom experience and/or experience supporting other educators. The program will run from July 2024 through June 2025. The fellows this year were selected from a group of applicants of nearly 250 from across the nation.
For more information about the NIET Fellows Program please visit niet.org.
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About NIET
NIET has over 20 years of experience in developing teacher leaders, supporting successful instructional strategies, and building educator capacity to address student needs. NIET partners with schools, districts, states, and universities to ensure all students have effective educators. Through these partnerships, NIET has served more than 9,000 schools and has impacted more than 300,000 educators and 3 million students