ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) — Tierra Pitchford, a first-grade teacher at Caldwell Elementary School in the Pflugerville Independent School District, will join 12 other educators from across the country as part of the Scholastic Inaugural Teaching Fellow Cohort.

Scholastic is a global children’s publishing, education, and media company.

This summer, Pitchford will complete a capstone project that will be showcased at a summit within Scholastic’s New York City headquarters.

The first-grade teacher — representing Pflugerville ISD— was selected out of 600 other applicants.

“This is an honor and a privilege,” Pitchford said. “I’m very blessed to be a part of it and learn from different educators across the United States.”

Working within Scholastic’s education solutions division, Pitchford will help design product development, professional title research and various K-12 initiatives.

“Tierra will bring the diversity of not only her experiences, but the experiences of her students to Scholastic,” Scholastic chief academic officer Amanda Alexander said.

Pitchford — who attended school within Pflugerville ISD — plans on bringing unique expertise based on her own experience in the classroom.

“I’ll be bringing some of the work back into the classroom and using it with my students to see if it works and providing them feedback,” she said.

Fellows will receive a stipend of $2,000 along with $500 retail value of books and materials from Scholastic.

“These teachers bring with them a wide range of experiences both in and outside of the classroom, that we know at Scholastic will prove to be very valuable,” Alexander added.

Most of the materials in Pitchford’s classroom have come out of her own wallet.

The first-grade teacher plans on using this extra income to further elevate her students’ educational experience.

“Majority of it will probably go back into my classroom,” Pitchford said.

During a tough time for teachers in Texas, she says that this opportunity has renewed her passion for education.

“I am living in my purpose and doing the things that I’m called to do,” Pitchford concluded.

To learn more about Scholastic’s inaugural Teacher Fellow Cohort, click here.