* Nearly half of the nation’s students (44 percent) are students of color, but the latest data show that just one of every six teachers (16.7 percent) is a teacher of color. * Current trends indicate that, by 2020, the percentage of teachers of color will fall to an all-time low of 5 percent of the total teacher force, while the percentage of students of color in the system will likely exceed 50 percent. * In urban and rural schools nationwide, as many of half of all African-American, Latino, and Native American students do not graduate high school in four years. * As many as a third of students in the nation’s high-need schools have at least one or more teachers without even a minor in the subject she or he teaches. * Study after study shows that the single most effective way a school can improve students’ academic achievement is to consistently provide well-prepared, committed teachers. * Research also shows, overwhelmingly, that students of color perform better – academically, personally, and socially-when taught by teachers from their own ethnic groups. UMBC just became recognized as a Woodrow Wilson Rockefeller Brothers Fund (WW-RBF) Nominating Institution. The WW-RBF Award covers: - $30,000 stipend to apply toward the cost of a master's degree - preparation in a high-need public school - guidance toward teaching certification - support and mentoring throughout the three-year teaching commitment - lifelong membership in a national network of Woodrow Wilson Fellows who are intellectual leaders Eligibility for the WW-RBF Teaching Fellowships: The Fellowship program seeks to expand the pool of outstanding candidates to teaching in urban and rural schools by recruiting exceptionally able arts and sciences majors for whom teaching is a new career option. Eligible applicants include individuals of color in their senior year of undergraduate preparation at one of the nominating colleges or universities. The Fellowship supports their enrollment in a graduate program that leads to a master's degree and initial certification in the subject they will teach. Applications are accepted only from candidates nominated by one of the nominating institutions. To be nominated, interested candidates should consult UMBC's campus liaison, Dr. Sarah Shin, Professor, Department of Education. She can be reached at shin@umbc.edu or at (410) 455-2485. Up to 2 students from UMBC will be nominated to the Foundation (Nomination and Application deadline: October 15, 2010). For more information please visit the Woodrow Wilson Foundation website at: http://www.woodrow.org/fellowships/teaching/wwrbf/