June 2, 2009

Morningside College accepts applications for new Teacher Intern Program

The Morningside College Education Department is accepting applications from individuals who are interested in becoming certified secondary teachers in Iowa.  The new Teacher Intern Program will help people who meet the enrollment criteria to become certified secondary teachers in Iowa while they continue to earn a paycheck.

July 31 is the deadline to apply for admission to Morningside’s two-year Teacher Intern Program, which is funded by a grant from the Iowa Department of Education. Morningside is the only college in western Iowa to receive one of the grants.

The program is designed for individuals who already have a bachelor’s degree in a secondary content area, but who do not have teaching certification. Participants will spend one school year taking weekend courses to learn critical teaching skills, and then they will go into the classroom the following year as a paid intern. After successfully completing the internship, they will finish the rest of their education coursework over the summer and have their initial teaching license by the beginning of the third year.

Department of Education rules limit admission into the Teacher Intern Program to individuals who have been out of college and in the workforce for at least three years. In addition, the program only certifies participants to teach at the middle or high school levels.

“There are a lot of highly qualified people out there who want to teach but can’t afford to leave work to go back to school,” said Pete Hathaway, associate professor and chair of education at Morningside. “This program is designed specifically for those people, and it is intended to address the critical teacher shortages that Iowa has at the secondary level, especially in certain areas such as math, science, music and foreign language.”

Hathaway added that classes will begin in September, and the first group of students will be limited to about 15.

Detailed information on the Teacher Intern Program is available by calling the Morningside College education department at 712-274-5349 or click here for the program brochure and program application.