DuPont is providing an exceptional internship experience this summer for five students from Clemson's Call Me MISTER (CMM) program. The Call Me MISTER project seeks to recruit, train, certify and secure employment for 200 black males as elementary teachers in South Carolina's pubic schools.
This group will intern with the South Carolina Statewide Systemic Initiative (SC SSI). Founded in 1993 with joint funding from the National Science Foundation and the South Carolina State Department of Education, the SC SSI promotes quality and effective learning experiences in science and mathematics for all students by facilitating systemic changes in K-12 schools. There are thirteen sites, or Hubs, across the state. For the summer of 2002, all interns will be placed at Clemson University with the Anderson Oconee Pickens Hub.

"These internships are incredibly valuable," observed James Branton (on right below), who was in an intern in the program last summer. "Learning practical approaches in a hands-on environment with talented, experienced instructors will make me a much better teacher."

"The internships are the focal point for cross-college collaboration," observes Tom Peters, director of the AOP Hub. "They bring together a Health Education and Human Development program, Call Me MISTER, and a College of Engineering and Science program, Science & Math to Go!, in a way that enhances both. We get a chance to bring our college's science and math expertise to a group of future leaders in elementary education, and in return we gain the perspectives and enthusiasm of the "Misters" in refining our efforts in public service work."

The Dupont Science Internship is designed to encourage Call Me MISTER pre-service teachers to become involved in science education reform in their community and at the state and national levels. A highlight of the summer internship is participating in a weeklong Strategic Planning Institute developed by the National Science Resources Center/Smithsonian Institution, in Washington, DC.