Georgia Southern University’s College of Education, in partnership with Clemson University, is excited to bring the Call Me MISTER® Program, (Mentors Instructing Students Toward Effective Role Models), to our community. Consequently, we hope to fulfill the Call Me MISTER® mission by:
- Increasing the number of Georgia teachers from diverse backgrounds and experiences
- Call Me MISTER®aims to select and support future teachers from socioeconomically and culturally diverse communities.
- Recruiting, retaining, and nurturing participants
- Call Me MISTER®is a cohort model, emphasizing networking, leadership, camaraderie, and achievement under the guidance and support of adult advocates.
- Building educator talent in high need areas
- Call Me MISTER®recruits outstanding future educators for teaching certification in elementary education.
Program Policy
It is the policy of Georgia Southern University that no person shall be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or in any way be subjected to, discrimination in any program or activity of the University. Participation in the Call Me MISTER® Program is open to anybody, regardless of race, ethnicity, or gender, if they are capable of facilitating the achievement of its objectives.
Discrimination based on age, color, disability, gender, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation or veterans status is prohibited.
Any person having a question regarding laws and regulations, or who feels discriminated against, is encouraged to contact Georgia Southern University’s Office of Equal Opportunity and Title IX, (912) 478-5136, eeo-titleix@georgiasouthern.edu
Meet our Program Director
I am Dr. Calvin Walton, and I am a faculty member in the Department of Curriculum, Foundations, and Reading in the College of Education at Georgia Southern University. It is my distinct honor to serve as the inaugural director of our Call Me MISTER® program.
My passion to build a strong Call Me MISTER® program emerges from a desire to improve school outcomes and experiences for students from traditionally marginalized backgrounds. Our mission is to increase the pool of Black male teachers and teachers from broader and more diverse backgrounds to work in some of the region’s lowest performing elementary and middle schools. I have high expectations that Georgia Southern University’s Call Me MISTER® program will produce talented and passionate teachers who embody social justice education and transformational change for marginalized students.
More About Dr. Walton
I am a native of New Rochelle, NY and attended Oberlin College for my undergraduate degree, where I majored in Black Studies and Communications. As an Oberlin student, I gained my initial experiences in education as an Upward Bound Teacher/Counselor. While I did not major in education, my experiences working with children from underserved backgrounds ignited my passion for teaching and inspired me to pursue a career in education. Upon graduation, I entered an alternative teacher certification program in Baltimore, MD, and gained a position teaching middle school special education in the city’s public school system. While teaching, I earned a Master of Science degree in Special Education from Coppin State University. I then transitioned into higher education and served as a content literacy professional development provider for teachers through the School of Education at Johns Hopkins University. Several years later, I moved with my family to southern California and taught students with mild to moderate disabilities in Los Angeles County. I returned to higher education at UCLA, where I taught graduate level teacher education courses and provided literacy-based coaching and professional development for teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District. After five years in California, I came back east and returned to the K-12 classroom as a special education-inclusion teacher in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School System. While there, I attended UNC Charlotte and earned a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction-Urban Education in 2015. Two years later, I began teaching in the College of Education and supervising interns at Georgia Southern University. My primary research interests center on culturally responsive educator preparation and arts education and African American male academic identity development.
Call Me MISTER® Program Cohort
Program Benefits
As an education major, you’ll develop the personal and professional skills you need to be successful as a teacher. We also offer some benefits specifically for our Call Me MISTER® program participants.
- Take advantage of tuition and book assistance.
- Gain social and cultural support from your classmates in the program.
- Work together with your professors and dedicated program coordinator to find the teaching placement that’s right for you.
Apply to Call Me MISTER®
Next Steps
- Apply and be accepted to Georgia Southern University
- Complete the Call Me MISTER® Application (PDF) **Applications are closed for the fall 2023 cohort. They will reopen spring 2024 for the fall 2024 cohort**
- Obtain two letters of recommendation:
- One addressing academic potential from a teacher, guidance counselor, or school administrator at the high school from which a diploma is earned.
- One from a person of the student’s choice who can express the student’s commitment to service, education, and the goals and objectives of the Call Me MISTER®concept.
- Create a 500-1,000 word essay entitled, “Why I Want to Teach.” The essay should address how you believe the Call Me MISTER®program will benefit you as a student, your motivation for entering the teaching profession, and the contributions you hope to make to the profession and to the community as a teacher.
Submit a copy of your Georgia Southern University acceptance letter, completed Call Me MISTER® Program application, two letters of recommendation and completed essay to the Call Me MISTER® program director, Calvin Walton, Ph.D. via email at calvinwalton@georgiasouthern.edu OR by mail.
Who Can Apply?
Call Me MISTER® candidates must be accepted to Georgia Southern University and enroll as an education major in one of the following programs: Elementary Education. *If you are interested in other grade level programs, please contact the program director.
Preference is given for students entering their freshman year of study, but all applicants and transfer students are also considered. Student participants are largely selected from among underserved, socioeconomically disadvantaged and educationally at-risk communities.
Eligible candidates will be selected based upon their potential for teaching and their motivation for participation in the program.
Following the submission of the items above, an interview will be scheduled with the prospective program participants to ascertain their potential for teaching and their motivations for participation in the program, as well as to provide an opportunity for clarification of any information submitted through the application process.
Student Vision Statement
“I am a dedicated Servant Leader who is perpetuating a sorely needed concept – Servant-Leaders as role models in elementary schools. I am devoted to planting seeds of dignity and respect in children and inspiring them to cultivate those seeds producing a crop of unprecedented success. I will teach reading, writing and arithmetic and progress to self-esteem, imagination and determination. Because of my immeasurable promise, not only have I earned your respect, I demand it! A title is only important if ones’ character and integrity dictate its use. When you address me, please verbalize my destiny… please do not call me by my first name… call me in reference to my great vision… call me MISTER!”
Have Questions? Contact Us!
Calvin Walton
Director of Call Me MISTER®
University Hall, Office #206
Savannah, GA 31419
Email: calvinwalton@georgiasouthern.edu
Phone: (912) 344-3138