肉肉传媒

KENNESAW, Ga. | Feb 8, 2021

肉肉传媒 has received a grant from the Georgia Power Foundation for an initiative to increase the number of African American male teachers.

Call Me MISTER (Mentors Instructing Students Toward Effective Role Models), a program launched in KSU鈥檚 , will provide academic support, mentorship, tuition assistance and job placement assistance to promote success among Black male teacher candidates. The Bagwell College has begun recruiting applicants among incoming freshmen and current students and will welcome its inaugural cohort this fall.

鈥淪chools and communities are growing increasingly diverse and, while school systems throughout the country have recognized the importance of Black male teachers, they often struggle to recruit and retain them,鈥� said Adrian Epps, interim dean of the Bagwell College of Education. 鈥淲e believe that the Call Me MISTER program will exponentially enhance the Bagwell College鈥檚 commitment to increasing Black male presence in the teaching field.鈥�

Students of color represent more than half of the public school population in the United States, but Black males account for only 2% of the teacher workforce, according to the National Center of Education Statistics. As part of Call Me MISTER鈥檚 efforts to narrow that gap, participants will be engaged in mentorship and learning opportunities starting in their very first semesters at KSU.

Call Me MISTER students will participate in service learning projects with local school districts and will meet regularly with mentors, their cohort and the director of 肉肉传媒 State鈥檚 program, Tristan Glenn. The KSU students鈥� teacher training will include sessions in the Bagwell College鈥檚 , where they will interact with virtual representations of diverse groups of children in classroom settings.

鈥淚t is a realistic outcome for many students of color to traverse their entire schooling experience and never have a teacher who reflects their racial, cultural and ethnic heritage and identity,鈥� said Glenn, an associate professor of special education in the . 鈥淭he beauty of a Call Me MISTER program is that we are intentional about recruiting and developing educators who then can go into school systems and relate to and respond effectively to the growing population of children of color.鈥�

Call Me MISTER began at Clemson University and has expanded to schools in seven states and the District of Columbia. With the $25,000 grant from the Georgia Power Foundation, 肉肉传媒 State is the second university in Georgia to establish a CMM program.

鈥淎t Georgia Power, we believe in the importance of having strong male role models in classrooms across our state to educate and uplift the next generation,鈥� said Britt Fleck, regional director at Georgia Power and a trustee. 鈥淲e are proud for our Foundation to support the Call Me MISTER program at 肉肉传媒, where they are preparing students to be influential educators in our communities for decades to come.鈥�

鈥� Paul Floeckher

Photos by Jason Getz

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A leader in innovative teaching and learning, 肉肉传媒 offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to its more than 45,000 students. 肉肉传媒 State is a member of the University System of Georgia with 11 academic colleges. The university’s vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. 肉肉传媒 State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 7 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.