Dear Prospective INSPIRE Teacher:

    It is our pleasure to invite you to join us in an initiative from UNC-CH designed to improve science education in North Carolina. Founded in 2002, INSPIRE is a program designed to partner undergraduate students with science teachers in the community.  The goal is for university students to share their enthusiasm for science with elementary, middle, and high school students. We accomplish this by placing students in schools where they can serve as assistants in teaching science.  This service-learning project can play a valuable role in helping science programs by providing resources, assistance, and enthusiastic support.  University students benefit by having opportunities to share their knowledge, mentor younger students, and give back to the educational community.  It is our hope that this program will also encourage pre-college students to consider careers in science as well as science teaching.

<>Drawing students from the undergraduate program at UNC-CH, INSPIRE partners students with an interest in science with area teachers. Approximately 30 undergraduate students participate in INSPIRE every seemster. Each week, the UNC student will go to a school to assist science instruction and in some cases share experiments and new developments in science with students.The student will develop all of the science instruction in collaboration with you, the teacher.

Thank you for your time. We hope that you will be able to see the potential of INSPIRE. With your help, we can reach into the younger generation and amaze them with the wonders of scientific discovery and the potentials of a career in science.

APPLICATION