Dec. 5, 2022

For immediate release

SC State Call Me MiSTER receives $90K Life2 grant to help recruit and train Black male teachers

The SC State Call Me MiSTER cohort with check from Life2. Photos by Keith Gilliard/SC State.

ORANGEBURG, S.C. – South Carolina State University’s Call Me MiSTER program on Monday received a $90,000 grant to boost its efforts to place Black male teachers in South Carolina classrooms.

Provided through the Leveraging Innovation for Educator Excellence (Life2) federal grant housed at Midlands Community Development Corporation (MCDC), funds will be used to recruit and train more Black male educators for high-need schools via Call Me MiSTER. Less than 2% of classroom educators in South Carolina are Black men.

“There is a tremendous need for children to see young men coming in and working in the schools,” said Dr. Thelma Sojourner, program director for Life2, a program dedicated to improving teacher efficacy. “Thank you for what you’re doing here. I’m excited for what we are going to be able to do for you at South Carolina State.”

Gabriel Million, SC State cohort president, (right) and Jordan Smith, vice president, talk about the opportunities Call Me MiSTER affords to students.

a learning cohort and provides mentors to area high school students. Call Me MiSTER focuses on personal growth, academic excellence, character development, social competencies, goal setting, self-awareness, self-esteem, Black history, finance, leadership, and advocacy.

“Our Call Me MiSTER program is a revolutionary, life-changing, powerful cohort experience,” said Dr. Rashad Anderson, an associate professor of teacher education and campus director for SC State’s Call Me MiSTER program. He noted that the university was founded in 1896 in part as school to train Black teachers.

“Since 1896, South Carolina State University has done just that -- produce countless, highly qualified Black educators across the state,” he said.

Since joining the program in the mid-2000s, SC State has graduated 27 fully certified Black male teachers via Call Me MiSTER. Of those, 17 have been named teachers of the year in their districts, while some have gone on to be principals and professors. Anderson, who has been SC State’s director since 2017, is among them. He graduated from the program in 2010.

“We are one of the top HBCUs in the country that educates African American male teachers,” Anderson said, “and I am truly honored to work with some of the most brilliant, creative future Black male educators who are so powerful that one MiSTER can transform an entire school’s culture.”

The Life2 grant will allow SC State to expand Call Me MiSTER using four areas of focus:

·        Advertisement and recruitment.

·        Student support.

·        Professional development

·        Field experience.

The Life2 team received thanks from current MiSTERs Gabriel Million, SC State cohort president, and Jordan Smith, vice president, who described many of the opportunities the program affords to students.

Along with travel and tuition assistance, the grant will support a Call Me MiSTER leadership camp experience next year, as well as a summer internship program for Calhoun County and Orangeburg County schools. The funds also will provide support for students to take teacher licensure exams.

Anderson described the Life2 grant as taking the program to “Call Me MiSTER 2.0.”

“Ears have not heard and eyes have not seen all that’s in store for South Carolina State Call Me MiSTER,” he said. “The best is yet to come.”

Also on hand for Monday’s announcement on the SC State campus was Clemson University’s Dr. Roy Jones, state director for Call Me MiSTER; Dr. Roderick Cummings, Life2 project manager; Darrell Jackson Jr., executive director of MCDC; Dr. M. Evelyn Fields, dean of the SC State College of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences; Dr. David Staten, SC State acting associate provost; Dr. George Johnson, chairman of SC State’s education department.

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Media Contact

Sam Watson

Director of University Relations

South Carolina State University

swatson2@scsu.edu

803-747-1223 (Cell)

About South Carolina State University

Founded in 1896 as a land grant institution with a mission of providing service to the citizens of the state, South Carolina State University has evolved from a small teachers’ college into a major University center of learning and research. Located in Orangeburg, S.C., South Carolina State offers more than 50 different fields of study on the undergraduate and graduate levels. South Carolina State University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and is a member of the Council of Graduate Schools.