Monroe County School District offers new Teacher Academy program
MONROE COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – A school district’s goal is to prepare its students for the future, whether that’s college or the workforce.
The Monroe County School District is partnering with William Carey University for those inspired to transition from student to teacher.
Students who complete the new teacher Academy program are eligible to receive full tuition and a scholarship for books.
Superintendent Chad O’Brian said the Teacher Academy program is designed to inspire students to become teachers.
“In our area and this part of the country Mississippi is experiencing teacher shortages in all areas. In an effort to combat that, a lot of universities in our area have partnered with us to create the grow your own program, and is where we take high school juniors and seniors predominantly and they enter into a program that teaches them about becoming an educator,” said Chad O’Brian.
Students who complete the course will receive three hours of college credit and the opportunity to graduate from the university debt-free and a year early.
“William Carry’s program is a three-year program and it is also an online program so the cost of tuition and books is covered and they don’t have to move to Hattiesburg. It is a real selling point to our students and we are finding that these scholarships are a jumping-off point for some of the students,” said Chad O’Brian.
Teacher Academy instructor Nora O’Brian said the program will give students exposure to the profession.
“They’ll be learning everything from how to observe in a classroom, standards, and teaching strategies to use in a classroom. They will be tutoring some students because they are actually going to go into the different schools to do this,” said Nora O’Brian.
The reality of a teacher’s day-to-day involves more than just book smarts.
“Learning to become a teacher there is a lot of paperwork thrown at you. learning how to write the lesson plans but not actually doing with the students and learning what every day is. You have to be flexible with weather and all kinds of things that come in during the day so this program will teach those kids how to respond to different situations,” said Nora O’Brian.
Each student will have to complete two years of the program to receive a scholarship.
If your child is interested, they need to meet with their school counselor. There still is time to change their schedule for this year.
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