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Meeting Critical Needs
The Ole Miss-based Mississippi Teacher Corps sends squads of young men and
women into some of the state’s toughest schools.
By CHELSEA CAVENY
In Mr. Curran’s class, when a student needs a pencil sharpened he takes it to the
sharpener for the student so the class is not distracted. In Mr. Curran’s class,
students are called upon and when they answer correctly they get a small gold star.
In Mr. Curran’s class, he writes on a small electronic pad that projects his notes onto
the board, so he never has to take his eyes off his class or turn his back to his
students.
Outside of Mr. Curran’s science class, the hallways sound like chaos. The bell to start
class rang over 20 minutes ago but loud yells and laughs can still be heard through
Curran’s door.
Chris Curran is calm. His voice never cracks or reaches a high pitch. He is in
control. His classroom feels like the lifeboat left from a sinking ship.
Curran is a part of the Mississippi Teacher Corps, an Ole Miss-based program that
along with Teach For America is working to put bright, eager, determined noneducation majors in public schools across Mississippi .
The teacher corps was founded in 1989 by Amy Gutman and Dr. Andy Mullins, now
chief of staff for Ole Miss Chancellor Dan Jones. Gutman was a Harvard journalism
student interning at the Greenwood Commonwealth and Mullins was working for
the State Department of Education. Mississippi was facing a serious teacher
shortage, and in a brainstorming session the two came up with the idea of creating a
domestic peace corps -- a program that would bring young college graduates from
across the country to complete their service by teaching in “critical needs” schools.
By 1994, it had developed into a two-year scholarship program housed at the
University of Mississippi that offered participants a Masters degree while they were
fulfilling their teaching commitment.
The program has remained small over the years, averaging 25-30 participants a
year. Currently, there are five Mississippi Teacher Corps participants teaching in
the Greenville public schools. But small doesn’t mean they aren’t making an impact
in the classroom or becoming a part of the local community. Many develop a strong
love for the places they teach, something they carry with them long after they have
moved on.
Ben Guest, the program director for MTC and a former participant in the program,
will tell you that, “of everywhere I’ve lived I have the most love for Hollandale,”
where he himself taught.
Produced by the Meek School of Journalism and New Media at the University of
Mississippi.
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