Edgecombe Early College High School Scholar Teachers Program

The EECHS Scholar Teachers Program provides outstanding high school students in Edgecombe County who desire to become teachers with the most advanced preparatory program currently available in eastern North Carolina.   Highlights of the Scholar Teachers Program include:

  • a three-year cohort model available to a diverse group of rising high school juniors with strong academic achievement and aptitude for leading others;

  • program themes centered around service learning, social justice, and the power of place;

  • curricular focus on developing the knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed for highly effective classroom teachers and educational leaders;

  • graduation with a high school diploma and two-year associate degree;

  • partnership with Edgecombe Community College for completion of all prerequisite courses and requirements for entry into the College of Education at a partner university such as East Carolina University;

  • personalized support for all EECHS Scholar Teacher graduates during the college application and scholarship process;

  • an earned credential called the “Scholar Teachers Certificate” approved by the Edgecombe County Board of Education.


The Scholar Teachers program will build our capacity in Edgecombe County to recruit highly qualified high school students into the teaching profession, support their personal and professional growth, and employ and retain them in Edgecombe County upon graduation from college.   Fully implemented, the Scholar Teachers program will bring sustainability to our teacher recruitment pipeline and will serve as a model for other North Carolina counties to emulate.

Read this wonderful article about this program:

Faced with 20% teacher turnover, this district decided to 'grow their own"

by Molly Osborne, EducationNC, September 23, 2020