Southern Illinois Fellowships for Teachers in Rural Schools (SIFTRS)

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Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC), in partnership with Shawnee Community College (SCC), Massac County USD 1, Murphysboro CUSD 186, and several other high-need school districts in Southern Illinois, is engaged in a planning process to develop a combined Teaching Fellowships/Master Teaching Fellowships program for in-service teachers and STEM professionals committed to teach in rural high-need school districts. Key to the proposed Planning Partnership is the creation of a Fellowship Program targeted at developing highly qualified K-8 teachers at high-need school districts. The Fellowship Program is expected to provide teachers with a deep understanding of science and mathematics content, training and experience in inquiry-based learning methodologies and tools to mount evidence-based curriculum revision through Action Research in their own unique school environments. SCC is a key link in this partnership as most students at SCC attended the partner school districts and transfer to SIUC to complete their undergraduate degree. Twenty-five to thirty (25-30) teachers and administrators from 10 or more rural high-need school districts in Southern Illinois are participating in the planning meetings and assisting with needs assessments. A critical goal of the proposed Planning Partnership is to develop a framework for an innovative Teacher Fellowships/Master Teaching Fellowships program that will provide increased mathematics and science content and pedagogical knowledge and improved instructional leadership skills for K-8 in-service teachers and for STEM professionals who desire to pursue certification and teach in rural high-need schools. The Planning Partnership is identifying professional development needs for teachers and leading to the development of a framework for a Fellowship Program for K-8 teachers in high-need schools.