Now in its third year, the grant funds college for education students who commit to return to Edgecombe County to teach
CORNING, N.Y. | Corning Incorporated | June 21, 2023
Corning’s Office of Racial Equality and Social Unity Announces 2023 Edge for Tomorrow Future Teachers Grant Recipient
Corning’s Office of Racial Equality and Social Unity Announces 2023 Edge for Tomorrow Future Teachers Grant Recipient
Corning Incorporated, in partnership with North Carolina’s Edgecombe County Public Schools (ECPS), recently announced that Josh Webb has received the 2023 Edge for Tomorrow Future Teachers Grant. The grant, sponsored by Corning’s Office of Racial Equality and Social Unity and part of ECPS’s Scholar Teachers Program, supports graduating Edgecombe County students who plan to study education in college.
High school seniors in ECPS’s Scholar Teachers Program are eligible to apply for the Edge for Tomorrow Future Teachers Grant. Recipients are selected based on their academic achievement, desire to further their education in the field of teaching, and commitment to return to Edgecombe County after college.
Webb will attend North Carolina State University, where he plans to study middle school education. After graduation, Webb will return to teach at a school in Edgecombe County.
“As our third Edge for Tomorrow recipient, Josh truly exemplifies the Scholar Teacher program’s objective to bring diverse talent back to his hometown,” said Millicent Ruffin, director, Community Affairs, ORESU. “I am so excited for the voice he will bring into the classroom and the pillar he will provide to both the school and community at-large when he returns to teach.”
Corning ORESU, Corning Optical Communications, and Corning Life Sciences have, jointly, committed to supporting 10 students from Edgecombe’s Scholar Teachers program over six years, starting in 2021. The program is a “grow-your-own-teacher" initiative that brings diverse high school students back to their local communities to teach in classrooms where 70% of students are non-white.
“Our initial goal for the Scholar Teacher program was to have 50 Scholar Teachers come back and teach in the district over a 10-year period,” said Matt Bristow-Smith, principal of Edgecombe County’s Early College High School. “Support from partners like Corning is what makes it possible for our students to achieve their degrees and create a sustainable model that supports future Scholar Teachers for years to come.”
As a biracial child growing up in rural Edgecombe County, Webb said he had just two Black teachers in elementary school. He didn’t have another until he got to high school. Becoming a teacher will help provide the added diversity he wished he’d seen in his younger years.
“I feel like if I had a teacher at those early stages – or even in the late stages of my educational experience – they would have been a pillar for me to lean on, to get advice from, because we would have been through similar struggles,” he said.
More information about the Scholar Teachers Program and available scholarships is available here. Information about Corning’s Office of Racial Equality and Social Unity can be found here.
About Corning Incorporated
Corning (www.corning.com) is one of the world's leading innovators in materials science, with a more than 170-year track record of life-changing inventions. Corning applies its unparalleled expertise in glass science, ceramic science, and optical physics along with its deep manufacturing and engineering capabilities to develop category-defining products that transform industries and enhance people's lives. Corning succeeds through sustained investment in RD&E, a unique combination of material and process innovation, and deep, trust-based relationships with customers who are global leaders in their industries. Corning's capabilities are versatile and synergistic, which allows the company to evolve to meet changing market needs, while also helping its customers capture new opportunities in dynamic industries. Today, Corning's markets include optical communications, mobile consumer electronics, display, automotive, solar, semiconductors, and life sciences.
About Edgecombe County Public Schools
Edgecombe County Public Schools (ECPS) serve the educational needs of more than 5,400 students in grades Pre-K through 12 with the mission of graduating students ready to achieve success in a rapidly changing world. ECPS is committed to educational equity and ensuring that opportunities are not limited by social, cultural, or economic factors.
