Call Me Mister

Call Me MISTER (acronym for Mentors Instructing Students Toward Effective Role Models) is a recruitment and support program designed to increase the pool of available elementary school teachers from a more diverse background. Participants are largely selected from among under-served, socio-economically disadvantaged, and educationally at-risk communities.

Call Me MISTER began at Clemson University in South Carolina about ten years ago. Today the program is located in five states and at eighteen institutions of higher education.

Metropolitan Community College – Penn Valley (MCC-PV) began its Call Me MISTER in 2008 and is partnering with the University of Missouri – Kansas City (UMKC) , and Lincoln University to help participants obtain an education and teacher certification in the State of Missouri and employment in the Kansas City, MO School District.

The program provides:

• Tuition assistance through Loan Forgiveness programs for admitted students pursuing approved program of study in teacher education at participating colleges
• An academic support system to help assure their success
• A cohort system for social and cultural support

The appropriate candidate for Call Me MISTER is someone with a passion for education and a desire to make a difference in the lives of young children. MISTERS will have the opportunity to make a difference in the Kansas City community by touching the lives of young students. If you, or someone you know, is interested in providing instruction to children and serving as a role model for future generations contact us.

MCC-PV Call Me MISTER Scholars must meet all of the requirements of the teacher education program at MCC, specifically the Associate in Arts in Teaching (AAT). Program participants agree to take part in periodic meetings, attend professional development activities, and to represent the program as deemed necessary. Upon completion of the AAT, MISTERS will transfer to either UMKC or Lincoln to complete their bachelor's degree in elementary education.

Call Me MISTER 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 referent to my great vision…call me MISTER!"