Through a three-year grant opportunity, the School of Education at UNC Pembroke has partnered with a national professional services organization––Branch Alliance for Educator Diversity (BranchED) –– and with local school districts to prepare highly effective and diverse future educators.
BranchED’s board of directors and leadership team recently visited UNCP and spent the day engaging with students, faculty and public school partners to understand the impact and how their efforts transform the communities it serves.
“We have an incredibly engaged board that not only wants to support the work from a fiduciary and oversight capacity, but they want to see the work on the ground,” said BranchED CEO Dr. Cassandra Herring.
“We wanted to show (the board) exemplary programs that we have been working with, and certainly, the School of Education here at UNCP is one of those,” Herring said.
BranchED is a collective of university faculty and leaders advancing educational equity and excellence. It was founded in 2017 as the only non-profit organization in the country dedicated to strengthening the impact of educator preparation at Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs).
“I am pleased to know that this transformative work has the potential to create a meaningful impact in my community,” said Dr. Tiffany Locklear, grant co-lead and assistant professor in the Inclusive Education Program at UNCP. “The project provides a space for learning, exploring and growing.”
Dr. Loury Floyd, dean of the School of Education added, “We are proud to have Branch Alliance as our partner.”
During the day-long visit, the leadership team engaged with students and district partners, including the Public Schools of Robeson County and Scotland County Schools.
In 2021, UNCP received a $400,000 grant through BranchED to restructure and renew its teacher preparation programs to recruit and prepare highly effective diverse teacher candidates.
“We are excited that they have taken seriously our work together and have expanded it, using it as a catalyst to the transformation here,” Herring said.
Dr. Frank Gettridge, BranchED’s board chair, said the visit provided insight into how BranchED and the School of Education have partnered to support students.
“It felt good to hear that you don’t bring culture into education––you bring education into the culture. This staff shared all those successes with us, and what started as a small grant has now turned into something impactful.”
