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Program encourages long-term teachers

Champions of Education

By JEAN C. YODER

Published: October 7, 2009

Over the past year, Champions of Education has encouraged and supported initiatives in several important areas. Substantial progress has been made on two of these projects — one in support of increasing opportunities for early childhood education and one in strengthening teacher recruitment and retention in Catawba County.

The historic Sweetwater Elementary School has been transformed into the Sweetwater Early Childhood Education Center, a countywide hub for early childhood education services. The facility is now home to four high-quality pre-kindergarten classrooms that can provide service for 72 children who are considered at risk of failing in school and prepare them for kindergarten and beyond.

In addition, the center houses an Early Childhood Support Team made up of education specialists, behavior specialists and nurses who provide consultation and technical assistance to child-care centers; offices for the Children's Resource Center, which provides parent resources, child care referrals and support and training for the child care community; and the Catawba County Partnership for Children, the non-profit agency that administers the county's Smart Start initiative and the state-supported More-at-Four programs.

Numerous experts and studies support the fact that investment in early childhood education eventually results in more success in school, and having this facility to allow focus on early childhood education is expected to help lower dropout rates and generate better employment opportunities and higher wages for these students when they graduate.

Studies also have shown that teachers with existing ties to the community are the ones most likely to stay. Therefore, the Champions of Education Teaching Scholarship, established last year, provides assistance to education students for the last two years of their degree.

In an attempt to develop "home-grown" teachers and try to make sure that local teaching talent stays local, three scholarships (of $5,000 each) were awarded this year, thanks to sponsorships from Piedmont Natural Gas, Duke Energy, and a combination of the Champions Cabinet and the Chamber of Commerce Board.

The scholarships are targeted to county residents, and acceptance of the scholarship requires that recipients teach in the one of the county's three school systems for at least two years. However, it is the champions' hope that with a supported beginning, these new teachers will have a much longer tenure.

In selecting applicants, a premium is placed on education majors planning to teach middle and high school science and math.

This year, one scholarship was awarded to a Lenoir-Rhyne University student who plans to teach high school math. A second recipient, who attends Appalachian State University, is planning to teach in the exceptional children's area.

The third, also attending ASU, is in elementary education. All three of these scholarship winners will be recognized at the champions quarterly breakfast meeting on Dec. 15.

Teachers are the backbone of public education, and Champions of Education believes local children deserve no less than the highest quality teachers. According to a 2004 study prepared for the Hunt Institute for Educational Leadership and Policy, stability is at the heart of a quality teaching staff.

"Turnover comes at great expense, not only in the negative cumulative effect on student achievement, but also financially to the state and districts that must repeatedly prepare, recruit, and support teachers for the same position," the study said.

Providing financial support for teaching scholarships is one way businesses can step up to support education and ensure that area children have the best possible teachers leading their classrooms.

It's good business for the students and for the future of the community.

Jean C. Yoder, retired Public Information Officer for Hickory Public Schools, volunteers for Catawba County Champions of Education, a program of the Catawba County Chamber of Commerce. For more information on Champions of Education, contact Lamar Mitchell, director, at 828-6000, ext. 248, or at lmitchell@championsofeducation.org.