By SCOTT POWELLLedger Staff Writer

Miranda Borders

Blacksburg High School senior Miranda Borders has been named a South Carolina Teaching Fellow.

Borders is among 200 students statewide selected as a Teaching Fellow after completing a rigorous application and interview process. More than 700 high school seniors applied this year for the state’s most prestigious scholarship for future teachers.

Students are selected for the program based on student achievement, school and community service and a willingness to teach in South Carolina. The program is funded annually by state lawmakers.

Borders will attend the University of South Carolina, one of 11 Teaching Fellows schools in the state. She will have the opportunity to participate in summer leadership programs, community and business activities, and receive up to $24,000 in scholarship money.

A Teaching Fellow agrees to teach in South Carolina public schools for up to four years after graduation. The program is administered by the Center for Education Recruitment, Retention and Advancement (CERRA), a state agency located at Winthrop University.

Teaching Fellows will be exposed to all aspects of the teaching profession, Teaching Fellows Program Director David Norton said.

“Our state is very fortunate that policymakers in the House and Senate are supporting efforts to educate the very best teachers,” Norton said. “Our goal is to have Teaching Fellows working in every district in the state. They will serve as models of teacher quality and catalysts for increased student achievement.”

CERRA Director Ann Byrd anticipates the Teaching Fellows Program will strengthen teacher quality in South Carolina’s classrooms.

“Students of the highest caliber are staying in our state to attend college and are committing to teach in our classrooms. This program serves as both a recruitment and retention tool in a time when these issues are more critical than they have ever been,” Byrd said. “We are grateful for the General Assembly’s continued support of Fellows and CERRA’s other programs that serve the state.”