MFMS teacher wins prestigious fellowship focused on Constitution
Marble Falls Middle School U.S. history teacher Courtney Williamson shows off a poster for the James Madison Fellowship she was awarded in June 2025. She was one of 43 recipients across the United States. Courtesy photo
Marble Falls Middle School social studies department head and U.S. history teacher Courtney Williamson recently received a James Madison Fellowship, the country’s most prestigious award in constitutional history and government for secondary school civics teachers. She was selected along with 42 other teachers across the country by the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation for its 2025 class.
“It’s a life-changing thing for me,” Williamson told DailyTrib.com. “It’s one of the best moments of my professional career. I can get a master’s degree now and not worry about loan debt.”
Named in honor of the fourth president of the United States, who is acknowledged as the “Father of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights,” a James Madison Fellowship funds up to $24,000 of each fellow’s course of study toward a master’s degree. The graduate program must include a concentration of courses on the history and principles of the U.S. Constitution. Recipients are required to teach American history, government, or civics full time in a secondary school for at least one year for each year of fellowship support.
Williamson was the only teacher selected from Texas, where competition for the award is fierce. After not winning the fellowship the first time she applied, she asked the foundation what she could do to better her chances.
“They told me to move to a less competitive state,” Williamson said. “They said I should move to Wyoming.”
Each of the 43 James Madison Fellows were picked by an independent academic committee from among applicants from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and U.S. island and trust territories. Fellows were chosen for their scholarly achievements and demonstrated interest in pursuing a course of graduate study leading to a master’s degree emphasizing the U.S. Constitution.
Williamson said the fellowship will boost her efforts to prepare students to be good citizens of the world.
“My goal is to take this old document and turn it into something relevant for this new generation,” she said. “Since COVID, Gen Alpha and Gen Z (younger generations) see things differently than we do. I hope to take this idea and turn it into something they can relate to and carry into the future. I don’t take that lightly.”
The James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation is an independent agency of the executive branch of the federal government and was created by law in 1986. James Madison Fellowships are funded by income generated through a trust fund in the U.S. Treasury and additional private gifts, grants, and endowments. For more information, visit jamesmadison.gov.