Bringing big ideas back to the classroom.
More than 100 Muscogee County teachers have experienced world-class professional development at Harvard, bringing fresh ideas and innovative strategies home to local classrooms.
World-class learning for MCSD teachers
Each summer, a group of MCSD teachers heads to Harvard University, returning with renewed enthusiasm and new ways to inspire students to think, question and learn.
Through MEEF’s Harvard Fellows program, educators selected among the district’s Top Ten Teachers of the Year are eligible to apply to attend Project Zero Classroom at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. They learn from internationally recognized experts, exploring creative approaches that build on students’ strengths, encourage critical thinking and deepen understanding.
“Harvard changes the way you think about thinking, opening up exciting new possibilities for teaching and learning. When we bring those ideas home and share them with fellow teachers – which is exactly what we all do – MEEF’s investment doesn’t just make a difference. It multiplies.”
Jordan Vocational College and Career Academy, 2026 Harvard Fellow
2026 Harvard Fellows
This past June, six more teachers became Harvard Fellows, bringing the total to 104 since MEEF launched the program in 2012.
- Amanda ZarateAaron Cohn Middle School
- Christi ScarbroughVeterans Memorial Middle School
- Jennifer ParkerLonnie Jackson Academy
- Charles RepassJordan Vocational College and Career Academy
- Heaven BriggsRothschild Leadership Academy
- April AllenRichards Middle School
The greatest impact happens back home
One teacher’s experience at Harvard can influence hundreds of students and fellow teachers.
Share
Through the Harvard Fellows Alumni network, Fellows share their knowledge with colleagues across the district.
Lead
Fellows lead professional development for other MCSD teachers.
Advise
They contribute to the superintendent’s Teacher Think Tank.
Prepare
They partner with Columbus State University to support future educators.
That’s the lasting power of MEEF’s investment: exceptional teachers inspiring even greater learning, far beyond their own classrooms.
In their own words
Harvard was professional development at its truest form. It wasn’t about the latest trend; it was about learning how to help students think more deeply. I haven’t been this excited to start a new school year in a long time, and I’m so grateful to MEEF for making it possible.
Heaven BriggsRothschild Leadership Academy
2026 Harvard Fellow
I left Harvard with more ideas than I could fit in a notebook, and they’ve come with me to every classroom since. Project Zero changed how I plan, how I teach and how I work with my colleagues. I’m grateful to MEEF for an opportunity most teachers only dream about.
Josh EvansAaron Cohn Middle
2024 Harvard Fellow
More than ten years later, I still use what I learned at Project Zero every day. It gave me new ways to make student thinking visible, and it changed how I approach teaching for good. That’s the kind of lasting investment MEEF makes in teachers, and I’m deeply grateful for it.
Dr. Kim LesterWynnton Arts Academy
2013 MCSD Teacher of the Year, 2015 Harvard Fellow
Dr. Stefan Lawrence
Georgia Trend’s 2026 class of 40 Under 40.
Stefan is a “MEEF’er” through and through: the 2016 MCSD Teacher of the Year, a 2017 Harvard Fellow and an active member of the Harvard Fellows Alumni network. Many know him as one of the emcees who keep our Teacher of the Year Gala lively every spring.
Today he serves as principal of Aaron Cohn Middle School. Congratulations, Stefan!
Help send the next class to Harvard.
Your gift gives exceptional teachers an opportunity most only dream about, and their students feel the difference for years.