Teacher Action Team

The Teacher Support and Retention Action Team identified a number of opportunities for teachers that already existed in the community and worked to make information about them more readily accessible to teachers. A priority of the Teacher Team is the Forsyth Fund for Teaching Excellence, a scholarship fund to refresh and renew teachers currently employed by WS/FCS and offer a recruitment incentive to encourage local students to pursue teaching as a career in Forsyth County.

Forsyth Fund for Teaching Excellence

The fund is the result of a study conducted in 2003 involving teachers, parents, school administrators and retired teachers. The study identified a number of strategies to improve teacher morale, retention and recruitment. The fund will provide money to finance some of these strategies.The fund helps recruit, support and retain highly qualified teachers.

Specifically, the fund:

• Provides scholarships to teachers pursuing advanced degrees and recertification.
• Provides stipends for summer activities that refresh, renew, rejuvenate and enrich teachers.
• Establishes recognition for new teachers at the elementary, middle and high school levels that includes a monetary award.
• Provides competitive scholarships to students in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools who are pursuing a teaching degree, with stipulation that they teach in the county for four years.

These goals are financed by donations solicited from businesses, foundations, community groups and individuals, including but not limited to teachers and parents. The Winston-Salem Foundation will administer the fund.