Project Inspire Teacher Residency

That’s a wrap on the 24-25 school year, and Cohort 14’s residency year! This amazing group of teacher leaders showed incredible growth this year, both personally and professionally. They have shown resiliency, tenacity, joy, and humor throughout the year, and we could not be more proud of them. They have all been hired to Hamilton County Schools, with 11 of them staying at their host site schools!

We love you, Cohort 14!!! Continue doing big things - this is just the beginning.💙

The lights are bright for them! Signing Day was on May 1, where some of Public Education Foundation Project Inspire Cohort 15 signed their commitment to Hamilton County Schools students. We are excited to begin this journey with them!

Project Inspire Teacher Residency isn’t going anywhere.

While the loss of AmeriCorps funding is disappointing, our commitment remains strong. With the support of our partners and community, we’ll continue preparing great teachers—because every child deserves one.

Hamilton County teacher residency program faces sudden $400,000 cut via DOGE | Chattanooga Times Free Press In a single afternoon, Project Inspire lost a little under half of its funding — and with it, a pipeline that has placed more than 150 educators in high-need Hamilton County classrooms since 2011.

Important Update: We're saddened to share that Project Inspire has lost its AmeriCorps funding due to a nationwide cut affecting over 1,000 programs.

But we’re not going anywhere. Project Inspire will continue — because every child deserves a great teacher.
Read our full statement below.

To learn more about Project Inspire and how to support the program, visit pefchattanooga.org.

Congratulations to all 2025 recipients, but especially to Kari Mays of Project Inspire Cohort 11! Kari is heading to Costa Rica to perform a data collection on bird species this summer. We can’t WAIT to hear about her experience and how this impacts her teaching students!🇨🇷🦜📈

Less than 5 spots left to join an amazing Cohort 15 who begin this summer. With the last Selection Days in April and Orientation in May, recruitment is closing fast! You will receive:

•A teaching license
•A heavily discounted Master’s degree
•Coaching and support from mentor teacher and PI staff
•Community from fellow cohort members and alumni network

Interested? All you need is a Bachelor’s degree in ANY major by June 2025, and a commitment to teaching the amazing students here in Chattanooga. Apply at the link in bio!

We are so proud to be part of Kari Mays’ teaching journey. As a member of Cohort 11, she has thrived as an Algebra teacher at East Ridge High School. Kari’s paper, “A Forgotten History”, was accepted into the MAA-Southeastern Section Meeting, where she was 1 of 2 high school math teachers awarded with that honor (the rest were college professors). The MAA SE advances mathematical sciences by considering math professionals at all levels in the design of its program and activities, especially at the collegiate level.

Even with all her awards, we most appreciate Kari’s humor, spirit, fun, and creativity she puts into her classroom, students, and colleagues every day.🌟

We took a field trip to visit them last July, and they returned the favor yesterday! PEF Project Inspire was excited to host UTK College of Education, Health & Human Sciences Dr. Ellen McIntyre, Dean, and Dr. David Cihak, Associate Dean. They saw firsthand the incredible work of our residents, clinical instructors, and graduates, along with the long lasting effectiveness and impact of the PI program. Thank you for making the trip all the way from Knoxville!!

Did you know that when you join Project Inspire, you get support from our amazing Public Education Foundation staff as well? Not only do Julie and Pam support public schools, they support Project Inspire residents as PEF’s Finance Manager and Hospitality Coordinator. Residents typically call them “Aunt Juju and Aunt Pam.”😊

Teaching is a team sport. PEF Project Inspire is family.

We celebrate love to and BETWEEN teachers today. Another perk of Project Inspire: you can find love!💕 Happy Valentine’s Day to our Project Inspire pairs:

•Elijah and Chandler Brooks-Davis, both Cohort 9
•Matt Bradshaw and Mackenzie Eschmann with baby Brooks, both Cohort 7
•Owen Bogolin and Melanie Carpenter, Cohort 7 and Cohort 8

We love all of our teachers!

We are so grateful to the women and sponsors of 100+ Women Who Care Chattanooga for choosing us to be the donation recipient in October! Your belief in our future educators and their dreams impacts us deeply.

Current Cohort 14 resident, Kennedy Rawls, gave a fantastic thank you speech on behalf of the cohort, which led to several women coming up to her afterward! Kennedy is just one of the many incredible future educators this organization has impacted. Thank you, 100+ Women Who Care!

From left to right:
•Dr. Edna Varner, PEF Project Inspire Lead Residency Coach
•Kayla Shugart, PEF Director of Development
•Intan McCartt, PEF Project Inspire Operations Manager
•Kennedy Rawls, PEF Project Inspire Cohort 14 resident at The Howard School
•Ashlie Henderson, PEF Board Member