RALEIGH — Five local high school seniors were notified that they are regional finalists in the competition for the Teaching Fellows Scholarship.

The Teaching Fellows Program provides a $26,000 scholarship over four years to 500 outstanding North Carolina high school seniors who choose teaching as their career.

The North Carolina Teaching Fellows Program was enacted by the General Assembly in 1986. The mission of the program was, and continues to be, to recruit talented high school graduates into the teaching profession and to help them develop leadership qualities such as visionary thinking and risk-taking; qualities that have not, in the past, been valued in teachers. The Teaching Fellows Program challenges students to see beyond the classroom and to think about the connections of education to the quality of life and the economic survival of our state. The program has quickly become one of the most prestigious awards in North Carolina. The scholarship is funded by the North Carolina Legislators.

The regional finalists are:

n William Hunter Diamont — East Surry High School

n Tia Danielle Joyce — East Surry High School

n Hannah Michelle Lewis — East Surry High School

n Cameron Blake Holder — North Surry High School

n Warren Taylor Hull — North Surry High School

Applicants for the scholarship are screened and interviewed by committees within their school district, and then by a regional screening committee. The regional screening interviews will take place on Feb. 20. The local and regional criteria include high school grades, class standing, SAT/ACT scores, extracurricular activities, references and interviews. The North Carolina Teaching Fellows Program is the most ambitious teacher recruitment program in the nation.

The 2010 award recipients and alternates will be notified by mail on March 19 with the list of award recipients and alternates online at www.teachingfellows.org by March 26.