Woodrow Wilson Fellowship Program to prepare science and mathematics teachers

Published February 25, 2011

The W. K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) has recognized the importance of additional high-caliber teachers in high-needs areas such as Detroit, especially in math and science. WKKF has also chosen to support an innovative preparation program for the State of Michigan, created by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. The WKKF-Woodrow Wilson Michigan Teaching Fellowship offers a $30,000 Fellowship to 15 recent college graduates and career changers who have mathematics and/or science backgrounds and show great promise as future teachers. The groundbreaking program is cohort-based, offering rigorous disciplinary and pedagogical preparation, extensive clinical experience, and continuous mentoring.

EMU is one of six Michigan universities awarded a participation grant from the Woodrow Wilson Foundation. Intense program planning has been underway at Eastern since April 2010, and the first cohort of Fellows will arrive on campus this May. These Fellows will be the first to earn EMU's new Master of the Art of Secondary Teaching degree, completing the MAT and earning their teaching certificates by fall of 2012.

The current program planning phase has been characterized by a strong spirit of cooperation between EMU's College of Education and College of Arts and Sciences. The Detroit Public Schools have also been full partners in planning. Program Director Dr. Nelson Maylone (Department of Teacher Education) notes that "...some amazing synergy has been evident during the Fellowship planning stage. Both Detroit teachers and EMU faculty and administrators have demonstrated the highest levels of professionalism while working on this project. And having the full support and backing of the Provost, the President and other Eastern administrators has certainly helped." For more information on the W. K. Kellogg Foundation's Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowship, visit the Woodrow Wilson Foundation mission page, or contact Dr. Nelson Maylone.