The Public School Forum has led the North Carolina Education Policy Fellowship Program (EPFP) since 1992, and it has continued to be the only statewide program of its kind that focuses on leadership and professional development in the context of education policy. Fellows come from public schools, higher education, community colleges, state agencies, and a diverse array of education organizations across North Carolina. Typically 20-25 mid-career education professionals participate in EPFP. This year, with the addition of the new EPFP West cohort, 52 Fellows participated in the 2016-17 NC EPFP class. Every fellow participates in the completion of a small-group policy project.
The goals of this project are to 1) have each group craft a specific, narrow policy proposal or response to an existing policy or proposal, and 2) meet with an education policymaker or “influencer” during our capstone retreat in March to discuss their proposal or response. The 52 Fellows were divided into 9 groups for the yearlong policy project. This year’s policy topics included funding for low-wealth districts, compensation for student teachers in teacher preparation programs, accountability for private school voucher recipient schools, expansion of NC Pre-K, and teacher scholarships for minority teachers. For 2016-17, Kenan Fellows Jordan Hohm and Jerica Morgan participated in the program.