North Carolina teacher Justin Parmenter talks about students already feeling the effects of Elon Musk’s attack on funding.
In a Saturday Facebook post, Executive Director Dr. Kate Allman disclosed that millions of dollars in funding for Winston-Salem’s TEACH program–accounting for 80% of a program which functions as a pipeline for highly effective educators serving in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County’s Title I schools–was unexpectedly canceled last Thursday:
I’m reaching out with difficult news—Winston-Salem TEACH‘s $4.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education, which funded 80% of Winston-Salem TEACH’s work, was unexpectedly canceled on Thursday. This is a devastating blow, as 75% of this grant directly supported stipends for our residents—aspiring educators who have committed to teaching in Title I WS/FCS schools. These stipends are a critical way we combat the key factors driving teacher turnover in Title I schools, most importantly the financial barriers that prevent talented educators from entering and staying in the profession.
Despite this setback, Winston-Salem TEACH has become deeply embedded in our community, and the outpouring of support we’re receiving is a bright spot in the midst of this challenge! It’s clear that so many people recognize the impact of this work and want to help sustain it.
The WS/FCS Forsyth Educator Partnership has set up a fund for Winston-Salem TEACH—if you feel led to give, you can do so by selecting our program from the dropdown at the link below: https://tinyurl.com/2h4v74tc Other city-wide fundraising campaigns led by some of our amazing partners are also in the works. Donors of $100 or more will be listed on our Winston-Salem TEACH website.
Every contribution helps us move closer to our goal of impacting over 20,000 Title I children in WS/FCS over the next five years. Thank you for your support during this critical moment
Title I schools are those which have large percentages of students living at or below the poverty line.
The purpose of Title I, first signed into law in 1965 by President Lyndon Johnson, is to provide “all children significant opportunity to receive a fair, equitable, and high-quality education, and to close educational achievement gaps.”
