Tag: Teaching

Students Interested In Education Career Have New Pathway

On October 16, the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education approved a new pathway that will equip college and career-bound high school students with the intent to pursue a career in education with knowledge and skills necessary for success when they graduate, Louisiana Believes shares.

Called the Pre-Educator Pathway, a part of the nationally recognized Jump Start career and education program, high school students will be able to take a unique progression of courses to encourage the development of strong, foundational academic knowledge and skills. In addition, students main acquire around 30-40 hours of practicum experience the help them become familiar with the K-12 teaching environment.

According to the Pre-Educator Pathway Overview, the mission of this pathway is to cultivate highly skilled educators by guiding young people on a path to becoming accomplished teachers, beginning in high school and extending through college and into the profession.

This pathway is geared for those who are seeking to become an early childhood education teacher, elementary school teacher, middle school education teacher, secondary education teacher, special education teacher, art teacher, foreign language teacher, or computer science teacher.

The statewide credentials that are included in this pathway are CIW Web Security Professional (Advanced), CIW Web Security Associate (Basic), CIW Web Security Specialist (Basic), CompTIA A+ Basic, and CompTIA Security+.

“We are hopeful the newly-approved pathway will elevate the education profession as a career option for our young people. We also hope it builds a pipeline to fulfill the state’s need for diverse, capable, 21st Century educators.” said State Superintendent John White.

The practicum the high school students will experience will be a combination of classroom observation and classroom assistance, and they will develop an understanding of diverse learners and different learning environments.

The Pre-Educator Pathway will help high school students seeking a TOPS University Diploma and those planning on becoming a certified teacher by guiding them towards being accomplished educators throughout all stages of their life. By beginning this pathway in High School, the students who choose this pathway will be catered to passing the Louisiana teacher certification exams and the General Teacher Competencies required by Louisiana for teacher certification.

For students who don’t plan on becoming a certified teacher but intend to enter the education profession, the Pre-Educator Pathway will prepare them to take on alternative roles – like child care worker, substitute teacher, paraprofessional, professional tutor, or school system cyber security analyst.

Amy Weems, an assistant professor in ULM’s School of Education, said, “We are proud to offer this pathway for high school students who have an interest in serving their communities through the teaching profession. This pathway was built through strong partnerships with our local school districts, and we look forward to helping those districts to train their best and brightest high school students who will return to serve future generations. It is the very best example of how ‘grow your own’ initiatives can exponentially improve the quality of education we can offer to our students to better our communities.”

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Nicholls State Education Degree Ranks High

Nicholls State University is one of the top schools in the nation for those looking to make an impact in the classroom by pursuing a degree in education by online educational resource Study.com.

Study.com listed Thibodaux’s Nicholls State University at number 45 on their list. They took into account statistics from the United States Department of Education, evaluated reviews by students. The list takes into account accessibility, affordability, and the quality of education. They did this by looking at each individual school’s tuition cost, financial aid, admittance rates, educational support and resources, retention rates, graduation rates, student-faculty ratio, career resources and job placement.

Nicholls was the only college in Louisiana to make the list.

The website emphasized the faculty in the Nicholls Department of Education and Behavioral Science and their desire to not only inspire their students but also encourage student engagement. The professors are not only committed to teaching their students, but also emphasizing community service, professional service, and student research.

Study.com also shone a spotlight on the many extracurricular activities for education majors, shining a spotlight on NEAT- the Nicholls Education Association of Teachers. NEAT describes itself as “a university organization that provides opportunities for candidates in the College of Education to serve the university as well as the community.”

Education majors at Nicholls are also often recipients of various scholarships, most notably the Camille Hebert Memorial Scholarship In Education and the Braxton Hebert Memorial Scholarship In Education. Those are only two of the fifteen scholarships offered for students pursuing teacher education.

In addition to students having the opportunity to grow professionally through organizations and offering numerous ways to increase affordability, Nicholls also offers numerous undergraduate programs and certifications including Art Education, Elementary Education (grades 1-5), Music Education, and more. The college also has graduate programs including Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Educational Leadership.

Study.com was founded in 2004 with a mission of offering a quality education that is as accessible as possible. They reach approximately 15 million students a month and is self-funded. They offer a video-based curriculum that consists of over 10,000 lessons.

Nicholls alumni comprise approximately 80 percent of the teachers in the Bayou Region and 90 percent of teachers names Lafourche Parish Teacher of the Year within the last five years.

The Nicholls College of Education and Behavioral Sciences operates under the phrase “Responsible Leaders Engaging in Professional Practice”. They are accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation for Teacher Education, the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences, Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs, and the Nation Association of School Psychologists.

The College of Education and Behavioral Science states their mission as follows:

The College of Education and Behavioral Sciences is dedicated to preparing high quality teachers, educational leaders, school and psychological counselors, school psychologists and human service professionals who effectively meet the diverse needs of Louisiana and the global community.

With the amount of alumni that go back into the community and not only teach, but also direct after school programs, work for the school district, and work for local community centers, it is safe to say that they not only succeed but exceed and shine in their fields.

For more education related information, click here.