Teacher Cadet Day Targets Students Considering the Teaching Profession

Greenville, NC - The Office of Professional Development and Student Outreach in the College of Education at East Carolina University will host Teacher Cadet Day 2008 on Wednesday, October 1, 2008 in Mendenhall Student Center from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. The College of Education has established partnerships with more than 18 Teacher Cadet Programs and over 150 high school juniors and seniors within the College’s Latham Clinical Schools Network. This year’s featured speaker is the 2008 AT &T North Carolina Teacher of the Year, Ms. Cindi Rigsbee.  The featured presentation will be followed by two break-out sessions and a program fair.

The North Carolina Teacher Cadet Program was founded by the North Carolina Association of Educators and is funded by the North Carolina Foundation for Public School Children. The program is a yearlong or semester-block activity-based curriculum for high school juniors and seniors. The course is designed to promote a better understanding of the teaching profession while creating interest for students who may consider teaching as a career. The North Carolina Teacher Cadet Program is an honors-type program that details many components of the education environment.  Students involved in the North Carolina Teacher Cadet Program participate in content development, application, observations and teaching in preschool, elementary, middle school, and high school settings.

Based on a 2006 Survey of 1,211 North Carolina public school teachers, the impact of the Teacher Cadet Program has shown: 25% who were Teacher Cadets in high school became a Teaching Fellow, 31% who were Teacher Cadets in high school received a teaching scholarship.  In addition, of the respondents who took the Teacher Cadet course, 85% reported that the program was the biggest factor in their decision to become a teacher.

For more information please contact Tarrick C. Cox, Coordinator at or call our office at 252-328-6208.