The Pearson Teacher Fellowship
Jumpstart’s goal is to build literacy, language, social, and initiative skills in young children. They do this by pairing motivated college students, called Corps members, with preschool children in caring and supportive one-to-one relationships for an entire school year.
Pearson and Jumpstart share a passion for education and inspiring people to reach their full potential. These shared goals and values led to the Pearson-Jumpstart partnership. At the heart of this partnership is the Pearson Teacher Fellowship.
In 2001, Pearson and Jumpstart joined forces to establish a two-year teacher fellowship program to inspire young people to become teachers. The program enables qualified college graduates to enter the teaching profession by providing a stipend, training and a support network, Pearson resources, a Pearson Mentor, and other tools intended to ensure success as new teachers.
Each Pearson Teacher Fellow receives the following:
- Pre-service training, resource materials, and continuing support and professional development
- A $5,000 stipend in year one, and $7,500 in year two, in addition to his/her teaching salary
- A professional Mentor from Pearson, who offers help in developing work-place skills and acts as a sounding board
- Assistance with gaining early childhood credentials
- Other support that includes benefits from paid membership to the National Association for the Education for Young Children (NAEYC), a professional starter library, and more!
Pearson people across the United States support Jumpstart in other ways as well. We volunteer to work with Jumpstart students and learning centers through programs like the Pearson Foundation’s own Family Book Night. Additionally, we support schools affiliated with Jumpstart by reading to children and by taking on projects such as building reading libraries, clearing playgrounds, and painting classrooms.
We also use our businesses’ expertise and resources whenever we can to support Jumpstart. For example, Pearson Education custom publishes a training manual for Jumpstart's volunteers across the U.S., and has adapted its CourseCompass web-based training technology for use by Jumpstart Corps members. The Pearson Foundation has also employed its Digital Arts Alliance program to support Jumpstart and Jumpstart’s Pearson Teacher Fellows.
