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Perspective | On National Teacher Day, meet the 2024-25 Kenan Fellows

On National Teacher Day, the Kenan Fellows Program for Teacher Leadership at N.C. State University is excited to announce the selection of 38 K-12 educators from North Carolina public schools as 2024-25 Kenan Fellows.

These educators, from 24 school districts across the state, represent diverse grade levels and subject areas including math, science, foreign language, and general education.

Courtesy of Kenan Fellows Program

The Kenan Fellows Program offers teachers immersive summer experiences in industry and research settings and supports them in turning this industry exposure into instructional resources and programs for their schools, districts, and communities. As part of their fellowship, Kenan Fellows will spend three weeks collaborating with local experts in STEM fields including agriculture, scientific research and clean energy. They will receive a $5,000 stipend and participate in 80 hours of professional development focused on innovative teaching, building leadership capacity, and strengthening connections between their schools and the local community.

“Announcing our new cohort of Kenan Fellows is always a highlight and we look forward to seeing how this group of outstanding educators will leverage their fellowships to connect students to future career opportunities and college pathways,” said Vance Kite, director of the Kenan Fellows Program for Teacher Leadership. “We owe immense gratitude to our donors and host organizations for making these work-based professional development opportunities available for educators statewide.”

The fellowships are made possible through the generous support of the program’s corporate, education, government, and foundation sponsors: BelleJAR Foundation, Biogen FoundationN.C. Department of Environmental QualityFleet Readiness Center EastN.C. State UniversityKidzu MuseumNutrienDogwood Health TrustUNC-Chapel HillN.C. Farm Bureau, Sampson County Farm Bureau, NC Ag in the ClassroomBurroughs Wellcome FundMetaN.C. Department of Public InstructionNorth Carolina’s Electric CooperativesFour County EMC, and Duke Energy.

Amneris Solano

Amneris Solano helps guide and implement strategic communications planning for the Kenan Fellows Program’s broad network of fellows, mentors, alumni, educators, and supporters. Solano is the 2009 recipient of the Fayetteville Observer’s Pat Reese Fellowship and the first place winner of the 2010 NC Press Association Award in education reporting.