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Battery Creek High School student named SC Teaching Fellow

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, May 3, 2023

BEAUFORT – Darby Kinsey, a senior at Battery Creek High School has been awarded the prestigious Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement (CERRA) South Carolina Teaching Fellowship.

Darby Kinsey

“I have been preparing for this since I was four years old. I can remember setting up my “classroom” in my bedroom and creating my own curriculum for my baby dolls and stuffed animals – and now I finally get to do it for real,” said Kinsey. “I am so honored to receive this fellowship. I am excited about learning how to be the best teacher that I can be and bringing that knowledge back to the community that helped raise me.”

After graduating high school with an Associate’s Degree earned through dual enrollment at the Technical College of the Lowcountry, Darby will join the Fall 2023 freshman cohort at Charleston Southern University and be a member of their exceptional Teaching Fellows program. She will be offered numerous professional development opportunities and be involved with communities and businesses through various service projects and partnerships with local schools.

Kinsey holds this honor alongside fellow Beaufort County School District alum, Jada Jenkins, a Whale Branch Early College High School graduate who was named a 2022 SC Teaching Fellow.  

“I have been preparing for this since I was four years old."

Darby Kinsey, Battery Creek High School Class of 2023

The state’s Teaching Fellows Program, operated by CERRA, was established in 1999 by the SC General Assembly. The mission of the program is to recruit talented high school seniors into the teaching profession and help them develop leadership qualities. Each year, the program provides Fellowships for up to 200 high school seniors who have exhibited high academic achievement, a history of service to their school and community, and a desire to teach in South Carolina.

Applicants for the program undergo a rigorous selection process that includes an online application, an interview and presentation in front of a team of three educators, and a scored response. Following the rigorous selection process, applicants who are awarded a Fellowship receive up to $24,000 in yearly scholarships (up to $6000 a year for four years) to attend a Teaching Fellows Institution in South Carolina. Each Fellow agrees to teach in South Carolina one year for every year he or she receives the Fellowship.

In addition to being named a SC Teaching Fellow, Kinsey was unanimously selected as the inaugural recipient of the Pat Conroy’s Literary Center’s Future Educator Scholarship, receiving a $5,000 award and collegiate/professional mentorship support.