About the Program

History of the Carter Associate Teacher Program

Launched in 1991 as a project to bring young teachers onto the faculty of Greenhill’s Lower School while also staffing crucial co-curricular programs, Greenhill’s internship experience (later the teaching fellowship program, and now, the Carter Associate Teacher Program) rapidly earned a reputation throughout the United States as a robust, top-notch training ground for young teachers.

It quickly became apparent that the rookie educators were vital game-changers for students and veteran colleagues alike. That first year, two “interns” worked in the Lower School Enrichment Center during the school day and coached varsity athletics, assisted with fine arts classes, or supervised Extended Day activities after school, all for a salary of $14,000! Over time, the program expanded into the Preschool, and for a short period, into the Middle School, before settling into a cohort of ten associate teachers in grades pre-k through grade 4.

Since that first year, over 250 young teachers have enriched Greenhill with their talents, energy, and passion during their formative intern/fellow/CATs year, and in turn, the school has helped to nurture excellent young educators to change lives in schools around the nation.

In addition to virtually every ISAS school in the Southwest, former interns/fellows/CATs have taught or are teaching in California, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, DC… and in China, Costa Rica, England, Honduras, Israel, Mexico, South Africa, the Philippines, and Thailand! In addition to those classroom teachers, former program participants hold senior administrative roles (including a Head of School) in independent and public schools of all shapes and sizes.

In addition to positions in secondary schools, former interns/fellows/CATs also serve as a pediatrician, a Dallas police officer, several university professors, a counselor in a maximum-security prison, an owner of a children’s yoga school, and the founder of a children’s cooking school.

Fifty former interns/fellows/CATs (20%) have ended up teaching in lead positions at Greenhill after their initial experience for a total of almost 500 years (averaging nearly 10 years each), with six eventually earning the faculty’s highest award – Faculty Leader – and one earning the Penny Nicholson Award as the most excellent member of the support staff. Two former interns have now achieved “Legend” status at the school, as they have been here over 25 years. One pair of siblings have both served as fellows, and there are four married couples of former fellows!

In 2016, when we were last able to gather for a reunion, over 60 former fellows returned from all over the world to reconnect with one another, their mentors, and other colleagues from their days on the Hill. Lifelong bonds form during this intense year of teaching and cohort work. Do you dare to take the leap?

About Lucinda F. Carter

Lucinda F. Carter was a legendary figure in the Greenhill School community for over three decades before retiring in June 2006. At her retirement ceremony, the Teaching Fellowship Program was officially renamed the Lucinda F. Carter Teaching Fellowship Program (later the Carter Associate Teacher Program) in her honor.

After arriving at Greenhill in 1971 from the Selwyn School in Denton, Texas, Lucinda (Fox) Carter had a profound impact on life all over campus. Carter taught Middle School language arts for seven years before assuming the mantle of Head of Middle School, a role she held from 1978 – 2006. It was in this leadership role that Carter cultivated her gifts as a “teacher of teachers,” and she quickly garnered acclaim for her skills in nurturing young faculty members in the process of guiding her division to new heights.

But Carter made her mark on the school in myriad ways. In 1973, Carter and Sheryl Ellis came up with the idea for the student body to perform a musical each spring - a tradition that still stands today. Two years later, Carter decided to write a musical documentary based on Greenhill’s twenty-five year history. She and several students - including Peter Eckart ’79 and Heather Trim ’79 - researched the history of the school and wrote all the music and lyrics for the show. A video of this musical documentary, which was the first show ever performed “in the round” at the Zale-Fields Theatre, is housed in the school’s archives.

In April 1985, Carter instituted “Teacher [later Employee] Recognition Day,” the final gathering of the school’s employees each June. As part of this special event, the School hosts a reception and presents employees with a variety of gifts and stipends recognizing their years of service to the school. Ever the school historian, in the 1990s, Carter wrote and produced The Headmasters of Greenhill video, a documentary about the talented and dedicated headmasters who guided the school to educational excellence and national prominence in its first sixty-plus years.

As namesake for the Carter Associate Teacher Program, Lucinda Carter remains a presence on campus and interacts with the CATs each year as they launch their teaching careers.

Greenhill School

A coed independent day school for prekindergarten – Grade 12

4141 Spring Valley Rd. | Addison, TX 75001 | (972) 628-5400