Future Teachers of Excellence FELLOWSHIP
WE SEEK COLLEGE-AGED INDIVIDUALS COMMITTED TO RACIAL JUSTICE AND EDUCATIONAL EQUITY.
In partnership with the United Negro College Fund, the Center for Black Educator Development’s Future Teachers of Excellence Fellowship provides:
- Up to $20,000 in undergraduate tuition support (Fellows receive $5,000 per year, depending on their classification at entry)
- $20,000 in stipends during your fifth year of teaching
- Engaging monthly learning experiences and professional coaching
- Paid apprenticeship opportunities to build real classroom experience
Students who participate in CBED’s Teaching Academy or Freedom Schools Literacy Academy are eligible for this Future Teachers of Excellence Fellowship.
All Future Teachers of Excellence Fellowship fellows are expected to engage in CBED programs, maintain a high GPA, and complete additional coursework.
Our 2026-27 fellowship applications are currently open through June 8, 2026 at 11:59 pm EST.
Future Teachers of Excellence Fellowship
ALL APPLICANTS:
- Be a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, permanent resident, or otherwise eligible to both receive federal financial aid and work in the U.S.
- Possess a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.7 on a 4.0 scale.
- Be accepted into/enrolled full-time at an accredited four-year college or university.
- Open to all majors, with a preference for students majoring in education, teaching, or related courses of study.
- Preferences shall be given to the following candidates:
- Incoming first-year students
- Prior or current participants in the Center’s Freedom Schools Literacy Academy and/or Teaching Academy programming
Contribute to the fund that fuels the Future Teachers of Excellence Fellowship.
Support our efforts to build a stellar corps of future educators who can lead the changes we seek in classrooms, schools, districts and communities nationwide. All to advance educational equity and racial justice.
It means a lot to me as a young person—I’m from West Philly—to be able to distribute knowledge. They put me in a good position to teach others what I needed to be taught at their age.
As a psychology major, I didn’t start out wanting to work in a classroom, but after my fourth year working at Freedom Schools, I’m wondering, ‘Do I want to be a teacher?
I think it’s important for students to have Black male teachers, because it allows them to see themselves. When I saw my Black teachers, it was more than just somebody doing a job to teach me. It was like being with my uncle, my family.
When our Freedom Schools scholars look at me, they see not just a Black teacher, but someone that looks like a family member, making them more comfortable and ready to learn.
One of the beautiful things as an educator you can do, you have the ability to shape minds and share knowledge —which really is a lost art. Teachers can become social justice advocates by focusing on creating good humans.
This opportunity arrives at a crucial moment in my life as I aspire to center the Praxis of Black Love in my future classroom and in my everyday life. I am overjoyed to continue my journey of becoming a revolutionary Black educator.
We’re really going to change the field of education rapidly. I’m just excited about what’s to come. I want to see Black and brown students go to college, I want to see more diversity in education.
