Tusculum College addressing teacher shortage

With the recent announcement that Rutherford County School System in Middle Tennessee would be seeking to hire 400 new teachers in the next year, the teacher shortage is becoming more of a concern than ever and a national study points to a need for even more teachers in the years to come.

To address this, Tusculum College is continuing to promote its teacher education program to anyone interested in education as a career, including both students who are looking at education for the first time and those who are considering a career change.

According to Dr. Tricia Hunsader, dean of the School of Education and professor of education, Tusculum College offers a variety of degree programs that prepare students for teacher licensure, including the one-year Master of Arts in Teaching program designed to prepare a student with an existing bachelor’s degree in something other than education for licensure.

“The Master of Arts in Teaching offers individuals holding a bachelor’s degree in specified areas the opportunity to pursue teacher certification,” said Dr. Hunsader. “The K-5, 6-12, and K-12 (content specific) licensure programs are designed for working adults who currently hold a bachelor’s degree and wish to pursue the licensure sequence and obtain a master’s degree at the same time. Courses are delivered in an accelerated format at times convenient for working adults.”

And while there are reports of shortages in Tennessee, it is by no means limited to the state. A recent Learning Policy Institute study describes the shortage nationwide and predicts that it only stands to get worse.

“We are experiencing what appears to be the first major shortage since the 1990s,” said Linda Darling-Hammond, professor at Stanford University and president and CEO of the institute, a nonpartisan education organization launched last year. “And teaching is, in some respects, as an occupation, at its lowest point in 20 years.”

The report, more than a year in the making, uses data sets from the Department of Education and provides one of the most comprehensive looks at the teacher shortage to date.

The problem is multipronged: At a time when public school enrollment is on the upswing, large numbers of teachers are headed for retirement. Meanwhile, enrollment in teacher preparation programs is dropping dramatically, falling 35 percent nationwide in the last five years, the report found.

According to Dr. Hunsader, Tusculum College’s programs aim to direct students toward fulfilling teaching careers at a time when they are needed most.

“The job outlook for licensed teachers is excellent, and more than that, it’s an area our communities need us to address,” said Dr. Hunsader.

In addition to the MAT program, Tusculum College offers four categories of teacher licensure programs:  elementary education (interdisciplinary studies), secondary education, K-12 physical education and special education.

All of Tusculum College’s teacher licensure programs are approved by the Tennessee Department of Education and are enhanced by the focused calendar, which facilitates early and frequent placement of education students in practicum experiences in area schools. These experiences enrich the knowledge gained in classroom work and more fully prepare students for their student teaching.

“Many students discover vital new interests in various aspects of education as a result of practicum experiences; sometimes confirming their choice of major, or in other cases, leading the students to select a different major more closely related to their interests,” said Dr. Hunsader.

A second master’s degree, in curriculum and instruction is also offered through the Tusculum College Graduate and Professional Studies program for students who are already licensed teachers.

For more information on the education programs at Tusculum College, call 800.729.0256 or visit www.tuscululm.edu.