A new program is available for Nicholls students to help with the transition from being the student to becoming the teacher called Louisiana transition to Teacher. This program was put in place so students would have the incentive to teach harder subjects. There was a similar program called Alternative Certification before, but it gave students no incentive to go into the harder classes such as special education, math and science. “The program was brought here to get Nicholls involved in keeping teaching in the profession. It is becoming a revolving door,” O. Cleveland Hill, dean of the college of education, said.
The Louisiana Transition to Teaching Program, which is funded by a grant, is designed to help decrease the shortage of teachers in math, special education and science.
Coordinator Anit Beaux of the induction program is in charge of the recruitment. A number of universities have hired Theresa Davis, coordinator of recruitment, to do the induction.
This program is for Nicholls’ students and alumni. People have been signing up for the program since January. People who receive a bachelor’s degree tend to work in the profession for a while and then change their mind and become teachers. This usually happens during the first three years.
The program is designed to bring in teachers with the knowledge and skills that will help build consistency, which will help improve schools.
The goal of this program is to improve the quality of teaching and learning in order to decrease the drop out rate. It will be three to five years before results will show whether or not the program is successful.
“This is the first time that universities have taken the responsibility. It has normally been left to the school district,” Hill said.
There is a minimum grade point average of 2.5 to be eligible for the program. The student must have passed at least four parts of the Praxis test.
The program has twenty scholarships available that are limited to those that live in one of the minimum poverty index parishes, which are Terrebonne, St. James, Assumption and St. John.
The scholarships are also given out to applicants who are going to teach special education, math and science, because of the shortage of teachers in those areas. Students do not have to get a scholarship to be able to participate in the program.
Hill believes that the program will lead to overall student improvement in teaching, learning and the overall school.
“We ventured out to do different things to help twenty people become started,” Hill said.
