Fellowship Programs
The Fellows
Gilman fellows will display the following characteristics:
• Have an excellent academic record and sustained interest in teaching and learning.
• Exhibit a commitment to Gilman’s mission to educate the whole boy and a capacity to develop healthy relationships with students and colleagues.
• Demonstrate excitement about joining an inclusive community and supporting the School’s many programs.
• Express enthusiasm about teaching and have the capacity to reflect on and learn from the experience.
Program Overview
Each year, Gilman School offers fellowships to recent college graduates who have a strong interest in teaching. Fellows benefit from the coaching of a mentor teacher and a range of unique professional development experiences.
Specific classroom responsibilities for fellows vary based on both divisional placement and demonstrated readiness. Some initially observe and shadow their mentor, gradually assuming instructional leadership as the fellowship unfolds. Other fellows, particularly those placed in the Middle or Upper School, teach a section or two of their own students for the duration of the fellowship.
Fellows coach interscholastic and intramural sports and support cocurricular programs, in addition to their work in the classroom. They often assist with advising as well.
What to Expect
Supportive Mentors
Mentors are veteran teachers who provide fellows support and guidance through cycles of feedback, observation, and conversation.
Instructional Coaching
Fellows benefit from instructional coaching rooted in cycles of observation, feedback, and conversation.
On- and Off-Campus Professional Development
Fellows take advantage of professional development opportunities at Gilman:
• Student Shadow Day
• Campus Learning Walk
• Department and division meetings
• Community, Inclusion, and Equity events
• Schoolwide professional days
Fellows engage in professional development outside of Gilman, attending conferences, workshops, and seminars designed for teachers early in their careers. Fellows also will spend a day observing students and faculty at another independent or public/charter school.
Fellowship Opportunities at Gilman
• Bridges Public Service Fellow
• Class of 1955 Henry Callard Teaching Fellow*
• Johnnie L. Foreman, Jr. Teaching Fellow
• Michael Howard Cooper Teaching Fellow*
• Tickner Writing Fellow
To learn more and to apply, visit gilman.edu/fellowships.
*This fellowship opportunity is part of the Penn Fellows Independent School Teaching Residency (ISTR). See next page for additional information about this partnership and program.
Penn Fellows
Gilman is a partner in the Penn Fellows Independent School Teaching Residency (ISTR), an innovative collaboration between the Graduate School of Education of the University of Pennsylvania and a consortium of the nation’s leading independent boarding and day schools. The other consortium day schools include Greenwich Academy, Hopkins School, North Shore Country Day School, Princeton Day School, Riverdale Country School, Roxbury Latin School, The Shipley School, St. Anne’s-Belfield, and Trinity School.
Program Overview
With an innovative and comprehensive curriculum, the program provides aspiring teachers an opportunity to receive a Master of Science in Education in concert with the exceptional fellowship program offered at Gilman. The flexible format is also designed to accommodate the rigorous schedule of the fellows and their host schools: brief, intensive on-site sessions that rotate between the Penn campus and the campus of each day school, paired with innovative and collaborative distance learning.
The program lasts for two years and involves:
• Summer work at Penn each year.
• Online work with the cohort of fellows from the other schools.
• One weekend each term at one of the consortium schools with faculty from the schools and from Penn.
• Coursework with a mentor at Gilman.
Program Facts
• Format: Professional full-time
• Program Entry: Summer term
• Course Requirement: 10 courses
• Culminating Experience: Inquiry project and final portfolio
• Program Length: Two years
• Prerequisite: Hired at partner independent school
Program Objective
The ISTR program is built from the foundation up with the understanding that teacher training must be solidly grounded in both theory and practice. For this reason, our program curriculum is designed to integrate the expertise of professional educators from a host of leading institutions, combining the perspectives of scholars and practitioners alike.
The ISTR program prepares participants to be:
• Outstanding teachers: Trained to meet the growing needs of a dynamic teaching landscape.
• Self-reflective professionals: Willing and able to develop strategies for studying and improving their own teaching.
• Leaders: Equipped to plan, build, and evaluate new curriculum and programs.
ISTR Teaching Fellows at Gilman School
The regular workload for teaching fellows at Gilman is:
• To be involved with the teaching of one to two classes each semester.
• To coach or assist an interscholastic team for two seasons.
• To meet with the other ISTR teaching fellows once a week and formally with their mentors at least that often.
Fellows gather for regular seminars to share their teaching and professional development experiences as well as to discuss readings and case studies addressing many of the following topics: lesson design, relationships with students, assessment, implicit bias, blended learning, and preparing for the job search.
To help assess and demonstrate growth, fellows maintain a digital teaching portfolio that highlights the tools, documents, and experiences that both represent and inspire their learning.
Degree
The ISTR program will confer an M.S.Ed. It requires the completion of 10 course units over a two-year period.
“I am forever grateful for Gilman’s Penn Fellowship and the care and support it provided me as an educator and person. This fellowship and all the mentorship and resources it provided were pivotal in helping me grow as an empathetic, effective educator.”
– Devina Bhalla, 2023 Penn Fellow
For
For more information about the Penn Fellowship Program, contact Gilman’s Co-Directors of
Beth Knapp 410-323-3800, ext. 441 bknapp@gilman.edu
Peter Kwiterovich ’87, Ed.D.
Assistant Head of School 410-323-3800, ext. 503 pkwiterovich@gilman.edu
Matt Zealand 410-323-3800, ext. 407 mzealand@gilman.edu
Kelsey Carper Director of the Tickner Writing Center 410-323-3800, ext. 471 kcarper@gilman.edu
Ghani Raines Director of Bridges at Gilman 410-323-3800, ext. 464 graines@gilman.edu
