Newberry Hosts College Day for High School Teacher Cadets

More than 250 Teacher Cadets from 15 Midlands area high schools will convene at Newberry College for their annual College Day event on Thursday, Oct. 29. The Teacher Cadets program is designed for high school students with an interest in becoming classroom teachers.

The Teacher Cadets will spend the day touring the Newberry College campus and learning about available majors and educational programs. The Cadets also will speak with The College’s Teacher Education faculty in the areas of Early Childhood, Elementary, Middle Level and Secondary Education subject areas. The majority of the day will be devoted to an Olympics-themed competition titles “Team Teach: Passing the Torch for Education,” in which schools will compete for a traveling trophy.

During their College Day visit, the Teacher Cadets will learn about Newberry College’s Teaching Fellows program, which provides academic support and financial assistance in the form of loan forgiveness for each year teaching in a South Carolina school after graduation. Students apply for admission to the highly competitive Teaching Fellows program when they are high school seniors. The Cadets also will learn about other forms of financial assistance available from Newberry College and will have the opportunity to meet with financial aid and admission counselors.

Local visiting high schools will include Lexington, Chapin, Blythewood, Lugoff-Elgin, Airport, Spring Valley, Ridge View, Eau Claire, Westwoods, Newberry, Keenan, Irmo, Brookland Cayce, and Richland North East. Columbia High School also usually participates in the Teacher Cadet program but declined to attend this year in the aftermath of flooding in their area.

The Teacher Cadet program is funded through South Carolina Center of Educator Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement (CERRA). College Day is planned and coordinated by the Newberry College Department of Teacher Education and the Teaching Fellows program.