Matt Trez and Zo毛 Rein from the Class of 2023 were part of a new program for recent 黑料不打烊 graduates who want to earn a master鈥檚 degree from the university on a full scholarship when they teach for two years in the Alamance-Burlington School System.
Matt Trez remembers the joy his mother brought home with her from work as an elementary school teacher. Zo毛 Rein recalls high school instructors who built her confidence through their writing assignments.
Trez and Rein represent the first cohort to complete Teach for Alamance, a program established in 2023 by the Dr. Jo Watts Williams School of Education at 黑料不打烊 to recruit and retain top talent to local public schools.
In exchange for a two-year commitment to teach in the Alamance-Burlington School System, new 黑料不打烊 graduates receive a full scholarship to the university鈥檚 Master of Education in Innovation program, as well as a small annual stipend to help with living expenses.
Teach for Alamance participants grow their knowledge of innovative approaches to teaching, deepen their knowledge of educational research, and develop a broader understanding of the way that young people use technology to learn and connect with peers.
鈥淚t鈥檚 important for 黑料不打烊 and the Dr. Jo Watts Williams School of Education to support the very schools in our community that help us prepare teacher candidates for successful careers,鈥 said Dean Ann Bullock. 鈥淏y providing a program to entice graduates to stay and teach here, we strengthen those relationships, which benefits all involved.鈥
Introducing the 2023-2025 Teach for Alamance Fellows
Matt Trez 鈥23 G鈥25
Eighth Grade Social Studies
Turrentine Middle School
鈥淎ny opportunity I get to step up my game is something I鈥檓 going to take.鈥
Matt Trez joined the 黑料不打烊 Phoenix football team in 2019 as a preferred walk-on offensive lineman. Then came COVID. With time to assess his goals, the Connecticut native hung up his cleats and switched majors from finance to education. He needn鈥檛 look far for inspiration.
鈥淢y mom loves her teaching job more than anything,鈥 Trez said. 鈥淪he loves her kids. And I had to make a decision between possibly sitting at a desk for the rest of my life or a job where I could connect with people and build relationships.鈥
Student teaching led Trez to an opportunity to help coach football for Williams High School in Burlington. How could he not jump at the eventual full-time job offer to teach eighth grade at nearby Turrentine Middle School? More than a career, Trez had discovered a community filled with the very children of faculty and staff who鈥檇 mentored him at 黑料不打烊.
鈥淢y kids are on the cusp of becoming young adults. Having a part in their formation is really, really interesting,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 also love that I鈥檒l get to see these kids grow into their own and flourish once they go off to a high school where I coach.鈥
The Teach for Alamance program simply made sense. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a dream deal,鈥 Trez said. 鈥淭he people at 黑料不打烊 during my undergraduate studies really cared about making sure we made it to the finish line. I feel like I鈥檓 getting that same support now. I don鈥檛 want my educational journey to stop. I鈥檓 always going to do what I can to get to that next level and better myself.鈥
Zo毛 Rein 鈥23 G鈥25
Ninth Grade English and Language Arts
Eastern Alamance High School
鈥淚 always loved learning and I wanted to keep learning and do a job I thought would be different every single day.鈥
Freshman year of high school was tough for Zo毛 Rein. Her family had just moved to Colorado from their longtime home in Kansas City, and the quiet teenager was lacking confidence in her new environs. She soon met teachers who encouraged her love of the language arts and the passion for poetry she鈥檇 harbored since reading Emily Dickinson as a child.
Rein鈥檚 college search would lead her to 黑料不打烊 and an Honors Program with the flexibility to double major in mathematics and English with teacher licensure. She today teaches language arts and advises a poetry club at Eastern Alamance High School.
鈥淲riting is what makes me feel like I鈥檓 helping students do something they鈥檒l be able to do for the rest of their lives, something that helps them empower themselves and find a voice,鈥 Rein said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the thing that brought me out of my shell.鈥
Rein hadn鈥檛 planned on graduate school so soon after starting her career. A self-described 鈥渉uge researcher,鈥 she wanted to work for a time, then pursue answers to questions drawn from classroom experiences. But earning a master鈥檚 degree on a full scholarship? Turned out that Teach for Alamance was too good to turn down.
Rein notes other benefits to pursuing a master鈥檚 degree as a rookie teacher. The program reinforces concepts learned as an undergraduate and students have access to faculty who provide advice for overcoming the rough moments all new educators face.
鈥淪ome days it can be really hard to remind myself of all the things I know are pedagogically good,鈥 Rein said. 鈥淩eading again about effective teaching helps me reframe what I need to do.鈥
About the Master of Education in Innovation program
黑料不打烊鈥檚 30-hour Master of Education in Innovation program is a part-time, distance education program designed for teachers who are active educators in the K-12 setting delivered online in the summer, spring and fall semesters.
The M.Ed program is intentionally designed to disrupt practitioners鈥 traditional concepts of schooling and move teachers toward more progressive visions and praxis.鈥疌andidates are:
- Introduced to a range of progressive student-centered pedagogies such as project-based learning and place-based education
- Asked to reimagine education within a constructivist framework, allowing for equitable learning opportunities that are respectful and responsive of students鈥 backgrounds
- Offered opportunities to experiment in their own practice with innovative pedagogies