By Dr. Michael Fleming, program facilitator
michael@cerra.org
​Submitted by Mr. Derrick Hines, Director

​The University of South Carolina Teaching Fellows, the College of Education, CERRA, and the Center for Educational Partnerships hosted a Spring Teacher Cadet Conference in conjunction with the University of South Carolina’s Presidential Leadership discussion with Holocaust survivor and Anne Frank’s step-sister Eva Schloss on Monday February 27th, 2017.  Over 300 Teacher Cadets, along with their teachers and chaperones, from 17 South Carolina high schools The University of South Carolina Teaching Fellows, the College of Education, CERRA, and the Center for Educational Partnerships hosted a Spring Teacher Cadet Conference in conjunction with the University of South Carolina’s Presidential Leadership discussion with Holocaust survivor and Anne Frank’s step-sister Eva Schloss on Monday February 27th, 2017.  Over 300 Teacher Cadets, along with their teachers and chaperones, from 17 South Carolina high schools attended the events, which were facilitated by USC Teaching Fellows.  Teacher Cadet participants and other guests attended the discussion portion of the day in the morning at USC’s Koger Center, where over 2000 people were in attendance.  Following the conclusion of the discussion, cadets and their chaperones transitioned to the conference venue for lunch and table top discussions.  These discussions were facilitated by University of South Carolina Teaching Fellows and members of the Capstone Scholars program; upon conclusion of the discussions, the Teacher Cadets were instructed to move to one of six breakout sessions.  USC Teaching Fellows helped to direct participants to the session locations and monitor student attendance at each session to prevent overcrowding, this process was repeated once more to allow cadets to attend two separate sessions before the conclusion of the conference.  This event was an engaging and immersive experience for all of those involved.
 
We were pleased to welcome CERRA’s Dr. Michael Fleming as our February professional development speaker.  Michael presented on Brain-Based Learning strategies and how to incorporate them into classroom instruction.  Many fellows reported that the presentation would certainly apply to their content areas and instructional philosophies and were eager to begin exploring ways to incorporate certain strategies into their respective curricula.  Thank you Michael for an engaging experience!
 
The USC Teaching Fellows are currently incorporating the 7 Habits accountability system into our Mentor/Mentee model.  To date several fellows report that they enjoy the weekly “check ins” and daily reminders of individual strategy tips to work on.  We hope to be able to continue using this model in the future with ever increasing efficiency to foster more interaction between members of the cohort and to promote professional growth.

By Dr. Michael Fleming, program facilitator
michael@cerra.org
Submitted Ridge Welch, Teaching Fellows, Communications Committee Chair.

February was just as awesome as ever in the College of Charleston Teaching Fellows program!
We had a great group of Fellows who volunteered at our local interviews at West Ashley High School. We hope to have met some of our future Teaching Fellows for the College of Charleston!
Two fellows, Michaela Rule and Jasmine Saab, were awarded a prestigious scholarship from Delta Kappa Gamma.
Our current President, Claire Winkles travelled to the South Carolina State House to represent the College of Charleston Teaching Fellows program for the annual CofC day. She was able to talk with many influential South Carolina politicians about the importance of education and the great things the Teaching Fellows program is accomplishing! 
A very large group of Fellows participated in our annual Dance Marathon at the College of Charleston. They were able to raise money for kids in need at MUSC! 
We spread the love here at our Teaching Fellows program. On the day after Valentines Day, we had a mentor/mentee meeting and played a lot of fun Valentines themed games, which allowed our mentor/mentee families to learn more about each other and bond! Pictured are two Sophomore Fellows, Bridget and Madison, having fun at a photo booth that was set up at the meeting. 
For one of our Professional Development meetings this month we were lucky enough to have Dr. Michael Fleming come speak with us and answer any questions Fellows had about Cerra and the Teaching Fellows program!
Two Sophomore Teaching Fellows, Ridge Welch and Terricka Leverett, work with an organization called the Save the Children Action Network. The organization advocates for early childhood education through engagement with elected officials. In early February Ridge and Terricka participated in a petition delivery to Tim Scott’s local office and asked his staffers to make sure Senator Scott Invested in Kids in 2017! Later Terricka and Ridge were able to attend a Town Hall meeting Tim Scott hosted in North Charleston. While there, they ran into a former College of Charleston Teaching Fellow, Morgan Downing, and were also able to get a question answered by Tim Scott! He was asked by Terricka and Ridge if he would defend Head Start in the upcoming budget negotiations and he said he would! In March, Ridge and Terricka will be heading to Washington D.C. to meet with lawmakers on Capitol Hill!
 
 

By Dr. Michael Fleming, program facilitator
michael@cerra.org
Submitted by Mrs. Amanda Darden, Director
​

​CCU Teaching Fellows February Professional Development Event    
The Coastal Carolina University Teaching Fellows enjoyed an event with Hot topics in Education, dinner, and bowling on February 19, 2017. The day started in the Kline Hospitality Suite on Coastal Carolina’s campus with dinner provided by one of the local teaching fellows family. This meal consisted of chicken and pulled pork sandwiches, pasta salad, coleslaw, and various flavors of pound cake for desert. After eating, the Teaching Fellows participated in a very informative presentation on Hot Topics in Education, given by the Dean of the Spadoni College of Education, Dr. Ed Jadallah. The fellows were very engaged in this presentation because they are seeing some of these issues first hand in their placements at Homewood Elementary in Conway, SC.
After the professional development, the group of Teaching Fellows all carpooled to Myrtle Beach Bowl for a fun evening of friendly competition and bonding in a relaxed environment. The fellows were split into groups of six to play against each other on the same lanes. Mentor and mentee pairs were encouraged to play with the same group so that they could develop their individual relationships as well as relationships throughout the entire cohort. The Coastal Carolina University Teaching Fellows really enjoyed being able to spend time together outside of a professional atmosphere and get to know different sides of each other. The fellows look forward to another wonderful event like this in the future! 

By Dr. Michael Fleming, program facilitator
michael@cerra.org
 Submitted by Mrs. Kimberly Baggs, Director

CSU is proud of our graduates! Three of the Charleston Southern University 2012 TF cohort have been awarded the honor of Rookie Teacher of the Year:  Congratulations, ladies! Great job!

By Dr. Michael Fleming, program facilitator
michael@cerraa.org
Submitted by Dr. Sherell Fuller, Director

​The Winthrop University Teaching Fellows have been busy completing service work with ESL students and various on-campus activities. Most notably, we hosted 250 Teacher Cadets from local high schools. Fellows served as greeters and tour guides and had an interactive panel discussion with the high school students. An enjoyable time was had by all!
Fellows also sponsored their 2nd Mock Interview Day February 4th. The entire day was coordinated and implemented by Fellows, with activities for parents and interviewees.  Forty high school students were in attendance at this event.
Finally, freshman, sophomore, and junior Fellows were treated to a 7 Habits presentation by
Dr. Michael Fleming. Students shared their newly developed mission statements and walked through some of the habits and how they connect to the classroom.

By Michael Fleming, Program Facilitator
michael@cerra.org
Submitted by Dr. Tim Lintner, Director

​The USC Aiken Teaching Fellows have been busy indeed. In January, they hosted the annual Mock Interview Day. Several Fellows served as “panelists” and offered constructive feedback to those interviewing. The following week, USC Aiken hosted the 2017 Teacher Cadet Conference. Some 160 high school seniors from our 11 partner high schools were on campus. Not only did the Fellows organize every detail of conference, they facilitated the break-out sessions and even started an impromptu line dance! The conference was a rousing success – thanks in large part to our Fellows!
A select group of Fellows traveled to Mid-Carolina Middle School to help with the formal Teaching Fellows interviews. We piled in the USC Aiken van at the crack of dawn, loaded up on donuts and coffee, and had a fantastic time working and chatting with Fellows from Newberry and Lander.
Some individual Fellow accomplishments:
Kelsey Sprulin was chosen to be a Pacesetter – serving as an ambassador for the University.
Angelika Davis was asked to join the Pacer Spirit organization on campus, serving as a liaison for the Office of Admissions and Enrollment.
Alex Richardson started the USC Aiken Shotgun Club which is competing against Division I schools – and often beating them!
Hannah Holbrook, Catherine Pullan and Jordan Steinmeyer have all taken leadership roles within their respective sororities.
Lastly, the Fellows have been offered an opportunity to travel to India for two-weeks as part of a leadership exchange program between USC Aiken and SIY University in Puna, India. We are gathering additional information and scrubbing up some additional money to see if this can actually happen! Stay tuned!