News Media Contact: Sam Watson, Director of University Relations

[email protected], 803-533-3603 (Desk), 803-747-1223 (Cell)

Nov. 17, 2023

For Immediate Release

SC State Call Me MiSTER receives 2nd $90K Life2 grant to recruit and train Black male teachers

SC State Call Me MiSTER cohort members Kennington Rogers and Keenean Johnson address the audience at the Life2 grant announcement.

ORANGEBURG, S.C. – South Carolina State University’s Call Me MiSTER program on Wednesday received its second $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.

‘Strong programs like Call Me MiSTER help us to build on the legacy SC State as we continue to prepare African American teachers to diversify the districts in the state of South Carolina -- particularly African American males,” said Dr. M. Evelyn Fields, dean of SC State’s College of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences. “The partnership with Life2 helps us to accomplish that goal.”

MCDC also provided a Life2 grant in the same amount to the program in 2022.

“South Carolina State, you should really be proud,” Dr. Lorraine Peeples, executive director of MCDC, said after SC State’s MiSTER cohort members were introduced. “They are extremely intelligent young men. They always respond well, and what I really love about them – they are hospitable.

Dr. Lorraine Peeples

Costanzo Bryant-Martin

“The passion they have for education -- the passion they have for working with young people is beyond what you expect out of young men at this stage of their lives,” she said.

In accepting the grant, SC State’s new director for Call Me MiSTER, Costanzo Bryan-Martin, thanked the MCDC Life2 partners, the university’s leadership, faculty and staff, and the

students in SC State’s Call Me MiSTER cohort for their dedication to the program.

“I think it’s so important to let you all know -- as internal and external stakeholders – how important you are in ensuring that this program, this department and this institution can be successful,” he said.

The program both educates future teachers at the collegiate level in 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.

Founded in 2000, Call Me MiSTER was established to reduce the shortage of Black male teachers in South Carolina and has since grown to include teacher education programs across the country.

But the challenge persists. Bryant-Martin noted that less than 3% of all teachers in South Carolina are Black men. Nationwide, that figure is 1.3%.

“The thing is -- 15% of our students are African American, so we have our students here, but we don’t have the representation in teachers,” he said. “But we’re changing that. Life2 is changing that. The Call Me MiSTER program is changing that. Our department and our institution are changing that.”

SC State has fostered students in a MiSTER cohort for more than 15 years, providing dozens of Black male educators to South Carolina’s school districts.

Also on the program for Wednesday’s presentation were Roderick Cummings, Life2 project manager; Dr. Frederick M.G. Evans, SC State provost and vice president for academic affairs; and Clemson University’s Dr. Roy Jones, state director for Call Me MiSTER.

SC State Call Me MiSTER cohort members, Life2 grant partners and SC State and Clemson officials with the check from Midlands Community Development Corporation.

###

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.