NAACP raises concerns about lack of HBCUs in teaching fellows program

The NAACP has raised concerns about the lack of historically black universities chosen for the state’s new teaching fellows program, saying it creates a “discriminatory effect that is unacceptable in a state with such a problematic history of educational disparity and segregation.”

NAACP President Rev. Dr. T. Anthony Spearman, in a statement Wednesday, echoed concerns of some lawmakers who have questioned why historically black universities weren’t represented among the five schools chosen for the new program, which provides scholarships for budding teachers in science, math and special education. The five schools selected by the N.C. Teaching Fellows Commission are majority white campuses – Elon University, Meredith College, N.C. State University, UNC-Chapel Hill and UNC-Charlotte.

But only one historically black institution – N.C. A&T State University in Greensboro – was among the 16 universities that applied to be included in the teaching fellows program, according to a list of applicants. Sixteen universities applied: Appalachian State, Campbell, Catawba College, East Carolina, Elon, Gardner-Webb, Meredith College, N.C. A&T, N.C. State, Queens, UNC-Chapel Hill, UNC-Charlotte, UNC-Greensboro, UNC Pembroke, UNC Wilmington and Western Carolina University.

The legislation that created the program this year set out stringent selection criteria for schools’ participation. Those included high rates of teacher effectiveness as measured on student performance models and “measurable impact” of schools’ graduates on teaching in science, math and special education. Candidate programs had to show high passage rates on teacher licensure exams and had to provide its student teachers with frequent practical experience in diverse classroom environments.

Fayetteville State University’s education dean, Marion Gillis-Olion, said in an email her college did not apply for the program “because we did not have evidence that we currently meet the standards in the request for proposals.”

At least one African American legislator last week expressed dismay that the legislation has basically eliminated a portion of the population of future minority teachers.

A 14-member commission scored the applications in November, and the winners were announced shortly thereafter. The commission was made up of education school deans, teachers, principals, a business community member and a local school board member.

The fellows program gives financial incentives to top students who major in education and agree to work in the state’s public schools. It will begin next year, providing scholarships to about 160 future teachers each year. Students who become teaching fellows can receive up to $8,250 per year in forgivable loans if they commit to teach in so-called STEM subjects or in special education. For each year they receive the loan, the students have to serve two years in a public school, or one year if the school is classified as low performing.

The new program is smaller and more targeted than the previous teaching fellows program that was phased out in 2011. Legislators said recently they hope to expand the program to more than five schools.

The NAACP applauded the reintroduction of the program, but pointed out that people of color are underrepresented in the state’s teaching force, “even more so when compared to the percentage of students of color enrolled in our public school system who depend on teachers not only as educators, but as role models and examples of achievement and successful integration into our state and society.”

Students of color benefit when they have teachers who look like them, according to recent research.

A study released this year showed that black male students were more likely to graduate high school if they had at least one African-American teacher in third, fourth or fifth grade. The study, by researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, used North Carolina data. It showed that low-income black male students’ chances of dropping out declined 39 percent if they had a black teacher late in elementary school, and their interest in attending college increased.

The state teaching force is 80 percent white, compared to a student population that is less than half white.

Staff writers Keung Hui and Lynn Bonner contributed to this report.

This story was originally published December 14, 2017 at 6:34 PM with the headline "NAACP raises concerns about lack of HBCUs in teaching fellows program."