Southern Wesleyan partners with Call Me MISTER
SWU signed an agreement to partner with the Call Me MISTER (Mentors Instructing Students Toward Effective Role Models) program, a program aimed at training and placing teachers from a diverse background into the state’s lowest-performing elementary schools.
Call Me MISTER, funded by a combination of public and private sources, selects college students from among underserved, socioeconomically disadvantaged and educationally at-risk communities who have high academic potential, a demonstrated commitment to teach and a potential to be servant-leaders. As graduates, students are expected to have an impact by returning to underperforming schools and communities to pursue their professional careers.
Students enrolled in Call Me MISTER will receive financial aid throughout the program. A goal of the program is to have graduates receiving financial aid commit to teaching in a South Carolina public school.
Southern Wesleyan University’s School of Education is starting to recruit students for the initial cohort, which will start studies during the fall 2011 semester. The goal for Southern Wesleyan’s Call Me MISTER students is to be scheduled in the same classes, live in the same housing and attend seminars together. Harvey Choplin, an adjunct instructor in the School of Education, will mentor the MISTERs and oversee their progress through the program; and Southern Wesleyan’s School of Education faculty, led by Lillie Lewis, will provide academic advising and monitor their classroom experiences. Southern Wesleyan plans to have joint meetings and events with Clemson’s Call Me MISTER students.
For details about the Call Me MISTER program, contact Dr. Paul Shotsberger, dean of Southern Wesleyan’s School of Education, at (864) 644-5354 or visit swu.edu.