Horace Mann, a Springfield-based insurance and financial services company for educators, has given $2,500 to the University of Illinois Springfield’s teacher education department to pay for a dual credit course for Sangamon and Menard County high school seniors.
The goal of this dual credit course is to encourage more students to become teachers in the wake of the state-wide teacher shortage, according to a press release.
The dual credit course, called “Foundations of American Education,” started in fall semester 2018 with 18 students from eight area high schools.
“School officials and administrators tell us that finding teachers is becoming more difficult,” Marita Zuraitis, Horace Mann president and CEO, said in a statement. “We hope this program will encourage more high school students to explore the educator profession and give them a jump start on their college degree.”
A report by the Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools found that the teacher shortage is especially an issue in central and southern Illinois.
This story appeared in The State Journal-Register on April 8, 2019.
Read the entire article online.
Showing posts with label dual-credit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dual-credit. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 9, 2019
Thursday, August 30, 2018
UIS to offer new dual credit course
A new dual credit course for high school seniors in Menard and Sangamon counties will be offered by the University of Illinois Springfield's Teacher Education Department.
The goal is to encourage more students to become teachers.
This is the second year UIS has offered dual credit courses to area high school students.
The new course being offered is titled "Foundations of American Education." It counts toward general education credits for those students who attend UIS to complete their bachelor's degrees.
The dual credit Teacher Education course costs $50, plus the cost of a textbook.
This story aired on WAND TV 17 on August 29, 2018.
Read the article online.
The goal is to encourage more students to become teachers.
This is the second year UIS has offered dual credit courses to area high school students.
The new course being offered is titled "Foundations of American Education." It counts toward general education credits for those students who attend UIS to complete their bachelor's degrees.
The dual credit Teacher Education course costs $50, plus the cost of a textbook.
This story aired on WAND TV 17 on August 29, 2018.
Read the article online.
Thursday, May 24, 2018
Local educators work to end teacher shortage
The national teacher shortage continues to hit Illinois hard.
Right now there are 1,000 open positions statewide and 20 of those vacancies are in Sangamon County.
“I've seen more vacancies for teaching positions than I have in the 23 years I’ve been in education," said Regional Superintendent Jeff Vose, with the regional Office of Education for Sangamon and Menard Counties.
Vose had enough, so he called Dr. Scott Doerr, the superintendent in Nokomis, who offers a dual-credit class for his students and asked him to help bring an education dual-credit program to the University of Illinois in Springfield.
"My goal here was to take our local students and bring them back to our communities,” said Dr. Scott Doerr, the superintendent in Nokomis.
For the first time, this fall, UIS is offering a dual-credit course for the teaching program. Students will get credit on the high school level, as well as college credit in education.
The goal is to get more people interested in becoming an educator. "They also can get experience with teachers to see what good teachers do and to see how excited teachers still are about teaching kids," explained Dr. Cindy Wilson, the Chair of the Teacher Education Program for UIS.
Right now, 20 students are enrolled. The course starts at the end of August and goes until December. If more students show interest, they'll offer another course in the spring.
This story aired on WICS Newschannel 20 on May 21, 2018.
Watch the story online.
Right now there are 1,000 open positions statewide and 20 of those vacancies are in Sangamon County.
“I've seen more vacancies for teaching positions than I have in the 23 years I’ve been in education," said Regional Superintendent Jeff Vose, with the regional Office of Education for Sangamon and Menard Counties.
Vose had enough, so he called Dr. Scott Doerr, the superintendent in Nokomis, who offers a dual-credit class for his students and asked him to help bring an education dual-credit program to the University of Illinois in Springfield.
"My goal here was to take our local students and bring them back to our communities,” said Dr. Scott Doerr, the superintendent in Nokomis.
For the first time, this fall, UIS is offering a dual-credit course for the teaching program. Students will get credit on the high school level, as well as college credit in education.
The goal is to get more people interested in becoming an educator. "They also can get experience with teachers to see what good teachers do and to see how excited teachers still are about teaching kids," explained Dr. Cindy Wilson, the Chair of the Teacher Education Program for UIS.
Right now, 20 students are enrolled. The course starts at the end of August and goes until December. If more students show interest, they'll offer another course in the spring.
This story aired on WICS Newschannel 20 on May 21, 2018.
Watch the story online.
Monday, October 30, 2017
Dual credit: UIS offers biochemistry course to SHG students
Sacred Heart-Griffin High School senior Cole Taylor has found out quickly that high school and college-level courses aren’t the same.
Taylor is one of 18 SHG seniors enrolled in a new dual-credit biochemistry course at University of Illinois Springfield.
The class is the first time UIS has offered high school students college credit for a course taught by a university faculty member — associate professor of biochemistry Stephen Johnson.
The high school seniors meet three times a week for two-hour 15-minute sessions, with an extra three-hour lab on Fridays.
Johnson, a parent of seven children, said he came up with the idea after speaking with fellow parents at SHG and teachers at the school about ways to enhance the science program.
The course gives students a jump-start on college because they have an opportunity to earn credit, but, perhaps more important, exposes them to college, he said.
“It gives students who want to be a doctor a chance to see biochemistry before they go into premed. Maybe they decide they’re not interested or, more importantly, decide maybe they want to do more,” Johnson said.
The biochemistry class starts with a review of general chemistry and then goes beyond what is taught at the high school level, Johnson said. The lab work also is more in-depth than what high school students are typically exposed to. For example, students learn how to separate DNA, Johnson added.
Johnson said he hopes the pilot program will expand for more dual-credit classes across UIS.
In addition, he also hopes to expand it to other high schools.
UIS Chancellor Susan Koch said the dual-credit program has great potential in attracting students to UIS.
“These are really talented kids and students that we would love to have at UIS after they graduate,” she said. “We look forward to talking to Dr. Johnson about how it went and seeing how we can expand it into other areas.”
This story appeared in The State Journal-Register on October 29, 2017.
Read the entire article online.
Taylor is one of 18 SHG seniors enrolled in a new dual-credit biochemistry course at University of Illinois Springfield.
The class is the first time UIS has offered high school students college credit for a course taught by a university faculty member — associate professor of biochemistry Stephen Johnson.
The high school seniors meet three times a week for two-hour 15-minute sessions, with an extra three-hour lab on Fridays.
Johnson, a parent of seven children, said he came up with the idea after speaking with fellow parents at SHG and teachers at the school about ways to enhance the science program.
The course gives students a jump-start on college because they have an opportunity to earn credit, but, perhaps more important, exposes them to college, he said.
“It gives students who want to be a doctor a chance to see biochemistry before they go into premed. Maybe they decide they’re not interested or, more importantly, decide maybe they want to do more,” Johnson said.
The biochemistry class starts with a review of general chemistry and then goes beyond what is taught at the high school level, Johnson said. The lab work also is more in-depth than what high school students are typically exposed to. For example, students learn how to separate DNA, Johnson added.
Johnson said he hopes the pilot program will expand for more dual-credit classes across UIS.
In addition, he also hopes to expand it to other high schools.
UIS Chancellor Susan Koch said the dual-credit program has great potential in attracting students to UIS.
“These are really talented kids and students that we would love to have at UIS after they graduate,” she said. “We look forward to talking to Dr. Johnson about how it went and seeing how we can expand it into other areas.”
This story appeared in The State Journal-Register on October 29, 2017.
Read the entire article online.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)