About the STAR Program

UM-Flint STAR Team 

  • Dr. Robert Barnett, Interim Dean, School of Education and Human Services
  • Mr. Tendaji Ganges, Executive Director, Educational Opportunity Initiatives
  • Dr. Sharman Siebenthal Adams, Department Chair, Education Department
  • Dr. Matthew Wyneken, STAR Board Member
  • Mrs. Melissa Richardson, Executive Secretary to the Dean
  • Mr. Richard Russell, UM-Flint STAR Coordinator

 

What is STAR?

  • STAR stands for Smart Teachers as Role Models
  • STAR’s mission is to recruit under-represented populations to teach in the Flint area
  • STAR is loosely derived from the Call Me Mister Program 

 

STAR's Purpose

The Flint STAR Program focuses on providing a leadership development, co-curriculum for students in a teacher education program to address substantial educational inequities within the elementary and secondary schools of Genesee County. 

 

STAR History

  • In September of 2004, key administrators at Mott Community College began discussions with representatives from the University of Michigan – Flint and Baker College to address the shortage of under-served, socio-economically disadvantaged and educationally at risk community teachers in Genesee County’s elementary schools and how the three institutions could best respond to this issue.
  • Representatives from Clemson University contributed to this process
  • In April of 2005, members of the collaborative assembled and interviewed a focus group of teachers to gather input related to  developing a local STAR initiative
  • In May of 2005, the collaborative worked with the GISD to identify current under-represented K-12 teachers
  • Five of these individuals attended a focus group to garner the opinion of these teachers as to the value of this type of program
  • The Secretary of the Flint Community Schools Board of Education and collaborative members visited Clemson University and the project was endorsed upon return (taken from Flint STARS Program Operations Manual)

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