STL Teaching Fellows Celebrates Largest Incoming Cohort in Program History
Saint Louis University's School of Education recently welcomed the largest incoming cohort in STL Teaching Fellows' history during the program's annual Summer Celebration and Induction Ceremony at Il Monastero.
The event, themed "Rise Up," celebrated the accomplishments of current fellows while formally welcoming 24 new participants into the program. In just a few weeks, these fellows will begin serving as full-time teachers of record in schools across the St. Louis region while earning their Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.). This year's incoming class brings active enrollment to 43 fellows across two cohorts, marking the program's largest enrollment to date.
A Celebration of Community
The annual Summer Celebration and Induction Ceremony brought together students, alumni, school and district leaders, community partners, faculty, family members, and supporters to celebrate current fellows and welcome the newest cohort into the STL Teaching Fellows community.
"At its core, this event is about community," said Karissa Sywulka Mitchell, director of STL Teaching Fellows. "We're bringing together the people who make this work possible — our fellows, their loved ones, our partners, and the schools that trust us to prepare their teachers."
The celebration also featured keynote speaker Kacy Shahid, Ed.D., an educational leader and author recognized for her work advancing excellence and equity in schools.
A Different Pathway into Teaching
STL Teaching Fellows was created in response to one of the region's most pressing educational challenges: recruiting and retaining qualified teachers.
Rather than requiring aspiring teachers to step away from paid employment to complete their preparation, fellows serve as full-time teachers of record while simultaneously earning a Master of Arts in Teaching and completing Missouri teacher certification requirements.
"We've built a pathway that allows people to enter teaching without putting their lives on hold," Sywulka Mitchell said. "That's been a game changer for so many of our fellows."
Since launching in 2020, STL Teaching Fellows has enrolled 117 participants. As of June 2026, the program has 58 graduates, with a 59th fellow graduating in August. The program has also demonstrated strong outcomes, with 85 percent of graduates continuing to work in the field of education as of Fall 2025.
Expanding Who Becomes a Teacher
One of the program's defining strengths is the diversity of experiences fellows bring into the classroom.
Fellows represent a wide range of professional and personal backgrounds. Some are recent college graduates beginning their teaching careers, while others are experienced professionals transitioning from business, nonprofit organizations, athletics, the arts, and STEM fields.
Recent cohorts have included a former Division I student-athlete, a working recording artist and youth mentor, a zoo educator transitioning into STEM education, a corporate professional pursuing a second career in education, a professional musician and a community entrepreneur who founded a youth mentoring program.
Many fellows also have strong ties to the St. Louis region. Some are St. Louis natives returning to teach in the communities where they grew up. Others are graduates of local schools stepping back into their former hallways as educators, while many are committed to building long-term careers serving students throughout the region.
Survey data from incoming fellows consistently highlights several motivations for joining the program, including a desire to make a meaningful impact in local schools, alignment with Saint Louis University's mission, and the opportunity to begin teaching while earning a graduate degree.
For many participants, the program provides not only a pathway into teaching but also an opportunity to align their careers with their sense of purpose.
Learning Through Practice
STL Teaching Fellows is built on the belief that teachers learn best by teaching.
Fellows teach full time while completing graduate coursework as part of a supportive cohort. Throughout the program, they receive ongoing guidance from university supervisors, school-based mentors, and fellow cohort members navigating similar experiences.
"The cohort model is essential," Sywulka Mitchell said. "Our fellows are constantly sharing ideas, problem-solving together, and supporting each other through the challenges of teaching. That sense of community is what helps them succeed."
Strengthening the Teacher Workforce
The program's impact is felt most directly in schools across the St. Louis region, where fellows help fill high-demand teaching positions in mathematics, English language arts, arts education, physical education, and other critical subject areas.
Since the program's launch, 72 STL Teaching Fellows have served in classrooms across the St. Louis region, with another 24 preparing to begin teaching this fall.
The program has also contributed to diversifying the teacher workforce, with a majority of participants identifying as non-white and increased representation of Black educators compared with statewide averages. As districts continue seeking educators who better reflect the communities they serve, this impact is especially meaningful.
As STL Teaching Fellows has grown, it has also helped shape a broader teacher preparation strategy within the School of Education. Elements of its "teach while learning" model have informed newer initiatives, including the iMATE program, while complementing longstanding efforts such as Billiken Teacher Corps. Together, these programs provide multiple pathways for preparing highly qualified educators to serve schools across the region.
Looking Ahead
For Sywulka Mitchell, the induction ceremony remains one of the most meaningful moments of the year.
"Seeing our fellows at induction, and then seeing them in their classrooms just weeks later—it's incredibly powerful," she said. "You can see the impact immediately, and I love watching their personal and professional transformation over the two years."
As the newest fellows prepare to enter classrooms this fall, the celebration marked more than the beginning of a graduate program. It represented the start of careers dedicated to serving students and strengthening schools throughout the St. Louis region.
Interested in Becoming an STL Teaching Fellow?
Individuals interested in teaching full time while earning a Master of Arts in Teaching and Missouri teacher certification are encouraged to submit a Request for Information (RFI) to receive program updates, invitations to upcoming information sessions, and application details.