Universities team with Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools to train teachers with federal grant

Three local universities in collaboration with Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools received a $4.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education for a teacher training program. 

Winston-Salem State University, Wake Forest University, Salem College, and Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools make up a collaborative project called Winston-Salem Teachers for Equity, Achievement, Community & Humanity (WS-TEACH).

With this grant, WS-TEACH will begin recruiting teachers for elementary, secondary, and special education this fall. 

The program will consist of master’s-level coursework and clinical internships in local high-need schools. WS-TEACH residents will receive a 12-month living stipend of $30,000 while they complete this work. 

After graduating, participants will continue teaching in the district and receive professional development and support for at least three years.

During a Board of Education meeting last week, Chief Human Resources Officer Leslie Alexander said this is one way the district is addressing teacher vacancies. 

“Their goal is to create 120 K-12 teachers over a five-year period,” she said. “So we have these pipeline programs in place that we're really excited about.”

The first cohort will begin in June of 2023.

Amy Diaz covers education for WFDD in partnership with Report For America. You can follow her on Twitter at @amydiaze.