RALEIGH, (SGRToday.com) - The state's education department has partnered with the most well known teacher association and nonprofit group on a teacher engagement program aimed at better connecting teachers to education policy.

The groups involved are the Department of Public Instruction (DPI), the North Carolina Association of Educators (NCAE), and Hope Street Group.

"Hope Street Group will bring its successful state teacher engagement program to North Carolina in 2015. Designed to elevate the teaching profession and connect educators to education policy, the year-long opportunity will provide North Carolina teachers with training and resources to identify teaching challenges and propose solutions to district and state policy-makers," according to a DPI posting about the program.

The collaborative statewide program has already been implemented in Hawaii and Kentucky and will also be replicated in 2015 in other states, including Tennessee.

Teachers interested in applying to be part of the program should contact  apply.hopestreetgroup.org.