NEWTON — Catawba County Schools said May 8, 2026, that Melia Stover, a math teacher at Fred T. Foard High School, has been selected as one of 20 K–12 educators in the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources 2026 Teacher Ambassador cohort.
Ambassadors will partner with DNCR on experiential, place-based learning that ties classrooms to North Carolina’s cultural, historical, and natural resources, and help other teachers use DNCR support, the district said.
“I’m incredibly honored and excited to be selected as a DNCR Teacher Ambassador,” Stover said. “I love helping students connect learning to the world around them, and I’m looking forward to sharing North Carolina’s history, culture, and natural resources with students in new and engaging ways while learning alongside other educators across the state.”
“North Carolina’s K-12 educators are among the most talented and dedicated in the nation, and these ambassadors exemplify that excellence,” DNCR Secretary Pamela B. Cashwell said. “We are thrilled to partner with this exceptional group from across the state as they help strengthen the connections between DNCR’s resources and classrooms, advance educational innovation, and inspire a deeper love of North Carolina.”
DNCR manages, promotes, and enhances arts and culture, history, and natural areas at more than 100 locations, the release said. The Learning Happens Here initiative covers educational programs, teacher professional development, and classroom resources across those sites. The ambassador program is described as part of DNCR’s public-education work treating parks, museums, historic sites, and cultural resources as living classrooms.
The district listed all 20 ambassadors, including Stover at Fred T. Foard (Catawba County Schools), along with teachers from Chapel Hill-Carrboro, Camden, Jackson, Brunswick, Onslow, Wilkes, Granville, New Hanover, Alamance-Burlington, Henderson, Robeson, Cumberland, Polk, Wake, Cabarrus, Durham, Iredell Charter Academy of Arts and Science, and Iredell-Statesville.
The May 8 release does not list a stipend, meeting dates, or how many Catawba teachers applied.
Official release from Catawba County Schools, May 8, 2026. https://www.catawbaschools.net/326715_2?articleID=62546
