October 17, 2024
Supporting NC Teachers: Impact of Maynard Scholars
According to data reported by the NC Department of Public Instruction, the NC teacher vacancy rate is at its highest. The report states that 11.5% of teachers left their roles last school year, compared to 7.8% the previous year. The teacher vacancy rate, coupled with increased college expenses and a starting salary of $41,000 for first-year teachers in NC, creates significant financial challenges for teacher education graduates. Graduating with college debt that accrues interest makes it increasingly difficult to recruit students into teacher education programs. The Maynard Scholars Program helps to address recruitment and affordability issues. Increased funding would aid in recruiting more students into teacher education, provide additional support and leadership opportunities, and enable future teachers to graduate from ECU with no debt upon completion.
The James and Connie Maynard Scholars Program recruits students into teacher education by assisting with their college tuition, thereby reducing their debt upon graduation. The program offers numerous support systems and leadership development opportunities, preparing students to be leaders and change agents within their school systems and local communities.
Established at East Carolina University on May 31, 2006, the program provides up to $26,000 over four years to ten incoming teacher education students annually. Modeled after the N.C. Teaching Fellows Scholarship, recipients are expected to teach in a public, charter or government school for four years, in one of the specified eastern N.C. counties following graduation. Recipients have up to seven years to complete this service payback requirement in a K-12 classroom.
James and Connie Maynard Scholars participate in service work, professional development, leadership opportunities, and travel enrichment, ensuring they are well-rounded upon graduation. The program’s appeal lies in its combination of significant financial, college transition, and academic support, as well as unique enrichment opportunities not provided in traditional undergraduate preparation.
Students are recruited as early as their freshman or sophomore year of high school and apply to ECU and the James and Connie Maynard Scholars Program during the fall or early spring of their senior year. The application process includes an essay requirement, documentation of leadership and service activities, and a financial need component. College of Education faculty, staff and volunteers score all scholarship applications. Applicants must also submit letters of recommendation and participate in a formal in-person interview on campus, allowing them to meet and network with current students and staff. Award recipients are notified in March of their senior year and are recognized as James and Connie Maynard recipients during their high school senior award ceremony.
Maynard Scholars reside in a common residence hall during their freshman year at ECU and take several classes together to build community amongst one another. These recipients have COE academic and secondary program advisors throughout their four years in the program for additional support. All recipients participate in monthly leadership seminars, semesterly service work, and enrichment travel. These opportunities include local team-building retreats, overnight networking retreats, in-state professional development with various school systems, and out-of-state travel. These opportunities allow students to experience other cities and cultures, and international experiences to provide them with a global perspective. Due to these experiences, our scholars are highly recruited teacher education leaders upon graduation, who understand and embody the spirit of service. Servant Leadership is at the core of the Maynard Scholars Program, as we want our scholars to fully embrace the importance of “paying it forward.”
The Education Community of Scholars Office collaborates closely with ECU Admissions and the College of Education Academic Success Center to recruit a diverse group of applicants and recipients in terms of financial need, gender, and ethnicity. The demographics of the Maynard Scholars reflect those of the University as a whole, especially among College of Education candidates and all other ECU Educator Preparation Program students. While the gender distribution aligns with most of the College of Education, the Educator Preparation Program and the Maynard Scholars Program are primarily composed of white females. Efforts to diversify our population are ongoing, with the goal of creating a more diverse teaching profession.
- Gender:
- 85% of the Maynard Scholar recipients self-reported as female
- 15% of the Maynard Scholar recipients self-reported as male
- Ethnicity:
- 87% of the Maynard Scholar recipients self-reported as White
- 13% of the Maynard Scholar recipients self-reported as other (including American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian/Pacific Islander, African American/Black, Hispanic/Any Race, Latino, and Multiracial)
- 77% of ECU’s College of Education students self-reported as White
- 23% of ECU’s College of Education students self-reported as other (including American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian/Pacific Islander, African American/Black, Hispanic/Any Race, Latino, and Multiracial)
The overwhelming majority (72%), of ECU students receive some form of financial assistance to help cover college expenses. A detailed report from ECU’s Office of Financial Aid regarding the debt at degree completion, specifically for our Maynard Scholars graduates, is forthcoming.
- 63% of the Maynard Scholar recipients identified as having need through FAFSA
- 37% of the Maynard Scholar recipients identified as having no need through FAFSA
Despite rising tuition costs, overall debt at graduation has decreased over the years, thanks in part to the generosity of our donors. During the 2022-2023 academic year, the average federal student loan debt at graduation for in-state first-year students at ECU was $11,700, compared to $13,254 the previous year. The average federal student loan debt for College of Education graduates decreased from $18,817 in 2019-2020 to $9,214 in 2023-2024.
While the reduction in graduation debt is a significant achievement, much work remains to assist our graduates in starting their careers debt-free. Notably, this data does not account for the decline in enrollment among traditional first-year students over the past five years, which likely contributes to the reluctance of students to incur debt for teacher education degrees. This trend exacerbates the ongoing teacher shortages in classrooms and school districts.
Since the inception of the James and Connie Maynard Scholars program, 183 four-year scholarships have been awarded to high school students, with recipients from 34 eastern NC counties, including: Beaufort, Bladen, Brunswick, Carteret, Columbus, Craven, Currituck, Duplin, Durham, Edgecombe, Franklin, Gates, Granville, Greene, Halifax, Harnett, Johnston, Lee, Lenoir, Martin, Montgomery, Nash, New Hanover, Northampton, Onslow, Pasquotank, Pender, Person, Pitt, Robeson, Sampson, Wake, Wayne, and Wilson. Currently, 38 Maynard scholars are enrolled in teacher education programs at ECU, with two scholars from the 2021 class graduating this past May of 2024.
Of the remaining 145 recipients, 118 (81%) successfully completed the program and graduated. Those who did not complete the four-year program and graduate as teacher education students left for various reasons, including transferring to other institutions, changing majors, leaving ECU, failing to pass licensure exams or meet university program requirements, experiencing the loss of a parent or immediate family member, and encountering academic difficulties.
- 92% of the Maynard Scholars program completers completed at least one year of teaching service in an eastern NC K-12 classroom.
- Of the 8% who did not complete a year of service in eastern NC, one did not get NC teaching licensure, three got married and moved outside of NC, three went to Graduate School and one is unknown.
- 91% of the Maynard Scholars program completers completed at least two years of teaching service in an eastern NC K-12 classroom.
- 89% of the Maynard Scholars program completers completed at least three years of teaching service in an eastern NC K-12 classroom.
- 87.5% of the Maynard Scholars program completers completed at least four years or more of teaching service in an eastern NC K-12 classroom.
- Ten students are currently in payback status or have paid back their award in full, for years of service not completed.
Out of the 118 Maynard Scholar recipients who completed the full program and graduated as Maynard Scholar alumni, 63 recipients (53%) are still in the NC school system with some of these individuals now serving in other school or district leadership roles other than teacher.
Maynard Scholar funds are classified as private donor funds within the institution, allowing them to be combined with other University and State funds. In terms of individual student assistance, this enables us to offer competitive financial award packages to students. Maynard program funds are coupled with State funds and other institutional foundation funds such as Truist Leadership grant funds to extend the reach and allow us to offer additional programmatic and enrichment opportunities to the Maynard Scholar recipients as well as other four-year scholars and our Education Living-Learning Community students. This community of scholars and teacher education majors complete program requirements, participate in extensive community service, attend leadership seminars, and participate in domestic and international study away experiences allowing them to enter the K-12 classrooms better prepared and with a greater understanding of the community in which they operate.
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