Teaching Fellows Program
The South Carolina Teaching Fellows Program is a prestigious fellowship program for qualified South Carolina high school students who wish to pursue a career in South Carolina’s public schools following graduation. The mission of the Teaching Fellows program is to recruit and retain teacher leaders in South Carolina.
Administered by the Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement (CERRA), the program provides prospective students with a $24,000 scholarship/loan over a four-year span ($6,000 per academic year). The Teaching Fellows scholarship is offered to up to 200 outstanding high school seniors every year. Coastal Carolina University is one of only eleven (11) institutions in the state of South Carolina identified as a Teaching Fellows Institution.
Lilian Canfora, 2021 Cohort (left): "In my short time as a Teaching Fellow I have already learned so much, but also gained some of my best friends who I know will be some of my biggest resources as I move to become a full-time teacher in the future. Teaching Fellows has prepared its members to the fullest extent and more!"
Raegan Soles, 2021 Cohort (middle): “Being a Coastal Carolina University Teaching Fellow has been nothing short of amazing during my time here. I have made friendships that will last a lifetime along with being able to experience professional development opportunities to further enhance my career as a teacher. Not only has Coastal Carolina University Teaching Fellows given me friendships, but it has also given me a family away from home. Without the Coastal Carolina University Teaching Fellows Program, I would not be the educator and leader I am becoming, and overall, the person that I am today.”
Sydney Byers, 2021 Cohort (right): “In my short time as a Teaching Fellow, so far I have loved every single memory made. The lifelong friendships, endless laughs, and the amount of support is unlike anywhere else I have ever experienced. Teaching Fellows has given me so much professional development and opportunities to be in the field as much as I can. I will forever be grateful for these experiences and I can’t wait to see where the future takes me as a future educator!”
Nick Gallagher, 2019 Cohort: “Now that I am in my last year as a Teaching Fellow, I am so grateful for everything that this program has given me. Without Teaching Fellows, I would never have been able to enter classrooms and teach my first year. This program has given me so many leadership opportunities that allowed me to share my passion for History and Political Science with students and educators all over Horry County. There is no greater Teaching Fellows Program than the Coastal Carolina University Teaching Fellows Program.”
Why Coastal Carolina University?
At Coastal Carolina University, Teaching Fellows are able to choose from various education majors and programs for working with grades K-12. Unlike other education majors, Teaching Fellows are able to gain teaching experience through clinical field placements beginning their first year. The majors that Teaching Fellows can choose include but are not limited to the following:
- Early Childhood Education
- Elementary Education
- Middle-Level Education
- Music Education
- Physical Education
- Secondary Education (English, Math, Science and Social Studies)
- Special Education
Teresa Gibbons
Director, Teaching Fellows Program; Lecturer, Middle Level Education
843-349-2935
tgibbons@coastal.edu
Prince 213E1
Hours: Monday - Friday: 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. by Appointment
Teresa Gibbons received her Bachelor of Science in Middle Grades Education from Valdosta State University in Valdosta, Georgia and earned her Master of Education in Technology from Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Mrs. Gibbons taught middle school science for 20 years in Lexington School District One in Lexington, South Carolina. Prior to entering the classroom, she was the Waycross College Post-Secondary Readiness Enrichment Program (PREP) Project Coordinator serving “at risk” middle school students in rural South Georgia. Mrs. Gibbons was Carolina Springs Middle School Teacher of the Year in 2015 and a 2017 state finalist for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching.