The second-year teachers have finished the required coursework for the Mississippi Teacher Corps.  Their last class was Saturday, October 29th.

“It feels good to be finished,” said Joel Harris.  “I’m amazed at how fast things went.”

“This is one of the best classes we have ever had in the Teacher Corps,” said Dr. Andy Mullins, the Co-Director of the Teacher Corps. “I was impressed by the caliber of work that this group did.” Dr. Mullins and Dr. Tom Burnham, the Dean of the School of Education, taught the final course: “The Effective Educational Leader.”

“We looked at a variety of leadership styles,” said Dr. Burnham.  “The hope is that some of the participants will be interested in pursuing their administrator’s license and think about getting a degree in Educational Leadership."

(Guest Instructor Doug McQueen)

The second-years do have one final class meeting in April.  At this meeting they will present their portfolios, a culmination of their two years in the Mississippi Teacher Corps.

(MTC Class of 2004)

The Mississippi Teacher Corps is the most competitive alternate-route teaching program in the country. It is a two-year program that recruits recent college graduates to teach in critical-shortage areas in the Mississippi Delta, in exchange for a full scholarship for a master's degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of Mississippi. The program was founded in 1989 by Amy Gutman, a Harvard University graduate student, and Dr. Andy Mullins, then Special Assistant to the State Superintendent of Education. Since 1989 more than 300 participants, reaching an estimated 60,000 students, have taught in critical-needs school districts as part of the Mississippi Teacher Corps.

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