04-14-2024 Education - Flipbook - Page 5
The Baltimore Sun | Sunday, April 14, 2024 5
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A brand-new start
Graduate programs in education prepare new pathways for teachers
By Alex Keown, Contributing Writer
A
n accelerated graduate degree in education offered by McDaniel College is providing a critical supply line of teachers to
Carroll County Schools.
A new, one-year master’s degree program that
also includes a one-year internship in the county
school system will provide a pathway to the classroom for recent graduates and people looking to
make a career switch. In addition to the shortened
timeline, the McDaniel program is backed with
grant money that provides a $23,000 stipend to
each of the students, says Tracey Lucas, assistant
dean of education and education department chair
at McDaniel College.
The program’s first two cohorts of 24 students
began this year, with the first group starting in
January and the second expected to begin classroom work in May and continue over the summer.
The in-classroom internship is expected to begin
in the fall of 2024, and students are also expected
to continue their classwork at the same time. The
teachers will work in different schools across the
county and be paired with mentors who can help
them along the way, Lucas says.
“There’s a real need to get highly qualified
teachers out in the schools, and the program provides student teachers a pathway to quickly get into
a classroom,” Lucas says.
After years working as a buyer for a music store,
Darrin Naill changed his career path in order to
follow a dream he put off in his youth. Naill originally wanted to become an educator but during his
20s, opted to pursue music. Now though, through
the accelerated McDaniel College program, Naill
is excited about his future. Starting in the fall of
2024, Naill will begin his year-long internship in
the Carroll County Schools. He’s grateful for the
stipend that will provide his family some financial
breathing room. Without that kind of financial
support, Naill says it would be difficult for him to
change careers.
“This program is a great way to get people
with families to enter the teaching profession,”
Naill says.
Nick Dixon, who graduated from McDaniel
College in 2023 with a degree in history, is excited
that his alma mater’s accelerated graduate program
will allow him to share his passion for the past with
students faster than he imagined. He benefitted
from passionate teachers during his younger years
and believes this program may afford him that
same privilege.
“If you’ve thought about becoming a teacher
but couldn’t’ afford it or thought that it would take
too long, this is your program,”
McDaniel College’s program isn’t the only education curriculum in Maryland addressing the
need for quality teachers. Community College of
Baltimore County developed a program that supports a need to train special education teachers.
The college partnered with the nonprofit Maryland
Association of Nonpublic Special Education
Facilities (MANSEF) to create a path for conditional teachers, which are those who have a degree
but not in education, to earn a special education
certification without the need to earn an additional
degree. MANSEF represents 70 special education facilities that serve more than 3,000 students
between the ages of 3 and 21.
The partnership between the college and
MANSEF is a first-of-its kind program in the state,
says Jessica Brown-Strott, assistant professor and
Essex campus coordinator at CBCC. In particular,
the CCBC program is considered an ideal option
for people who are looking to make a career change
and enter education, Brown-Strott says. She notes
that Maryland’s university system is not currently
producing enough teachers for the current needs
of the state’s school systems, let alone teachers for
students with special needs, a highly vulnerable
population of children.
“This is where we need to be heading to support teaching. We feel like we have a good product, and we strongly believe that every child in
Maryland should be with a fully certified teacher
who will be there for the long term,” Brown-Strott
says. “We’ve been helping career changers for well
over 20 years. We’ll continue in that same mission.
We’re adapting and pivoting to what the blueprint
requires for certification and we want to sue our
expertise to help the next generation of teachers for
the long haul.”
Goucher College offers a Master of Education
course that is designed to integrate theoretical and
practical coursework across various areas of specialization. In all, the Goucher program includes
nine different specializations between a traditional
master’s in education and professional development certification.
Students are encouraged choose their own path
in the classroom, with an emphasis on real-world
problem-solving approaches, Annalisa Czeczulin,
director of graduate programs in education at
Goucher College says. One of Goucher’s main goals
is to achieve a growth mindset that enables students
to achieve success in the classroom as it changes
over time. Czeczulin notes that the coursework is
flexible, so it benefits students who have demanding schedule.
Goucher’s initial graduate program for education began in the 1970s but over the decades has
evolved into one that offers multiple specializations and certifications. Czeczulin touts Goucher’s
emphasis on real-world situations that educators
face day in and day out, which provides people with
the right tools to handle a 21st century classroom.
“I’ve never worked at an institution like
Goucher where people not only care about the success of their students but the impact these future
educators have on their students’ lives,” Czeczulin
says.
Laura Mueller, an English teacher at St. Mary’s
High School in Annapolis, is a student in Goucher’s
M.Ed. program. With designs on pursuing a role
in education administration, Mueller joined the
Goucher program. Mueller was drawn to the program because of the breadth of the program, as well
as its affordability. She also touted its accessibility due to online learning options. When Mueller
began her graduate program, her youngest child
was five months old. The ability to participate
online allowed her the opportunity to pursue her
dreams.
Mueller says the program creates a sense of
community among the diverse education professionals that make up the student population. That
diversity is another strength, she added.
“The program really seems focused on how we
(educators) can help our community,” Mueller says.
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