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RALEIGH – The Kenan Fellows Program for Teacher Leadership at NC State University announced on May 7 the K-12 educators from North Carolina public schools who have been selected as 2024-25 Kenan Fellows.

Treba Howard, a teacher at Northampton County High School, was one of the 38 recipients chosen from across North Carolina.

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

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.

The NC Department of Environmental Quality provided a $1 million grant for eight of the fellowships, including Howard’s, to focus on advancing clean energy workforce education in the state. These educators will spend three weeks between June and August with a host organization in the clean energy sector. Through job shadowing, the educators will gain exposure to the clean energy workforce, connect classroom STEM concepts to workplace applications, and develop projects benefitting students and educators.

Howard will work with The Center of Energy Education, a nonprofit organization in Roanoke Rapids, for her fellowship.

“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 Foundation, NC Department of Environmental Quality, Fleet Readiness Center East, NC State University, Kidzu Museum, Nutrien, Dogwood Health Trust, UNC-Chapel Hill, NC Farm Bureau, Sampson County Farm Burea, NC Ag in the Classroom, Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Meta, NC Department of Public Instruction, North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives, Four County EMC, and Duke Energy.