Roanoke College logo. Courtesy of Roanoke College.

Here’s a round-up of education briefs around Southwest and Southside. Want more education news? Right now, there’s no full-time education reporter west of Richmond. We’d like to change that. You can help fund us.

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Roanoke College, Carilion announce partnership

Roanoke College and Carilion Clinic announced a new partnership to improve community health, prepared students for careers in the health care sector and support professional development for Carilion’s workforce, according to a release from the college.

The Roanoke College-Carilion Clinic partnership will: 

  • Utilize Roanoke College’s health-related curricula, such as the public health studies program, the business program, research initiatives and Carilion’s expanding medical education collaboratives, to address community health, well-being and the region’s growing community of healthcare professionals. 
  • Build a pipeline for non-clinical healthcare professionals through internships and technical training that prepares students and graduates for careers, demonstrating Carilion’s and Roanoke College’s position among the founding stakeholders of the Blue Ridge Partnership for Health Science Careers
  • Create continuing education opportunities at Roanoke College for Carilion employees, drawing on existing and new training options in technology and administration. 
  • Track and measure program goals, including increased placement of non-clinical professionals in healthcare careers and career development training for Carilion employees to meet the needs of both organizations and the Roanoke Valley. 

Also, Roanoke College will explore how new majors and academic programs can address the changing needs of all health care employers and the growing biomedical and biotechnology ecosystem in the region.  

Disclosure: Carilion is one of our donors but donors have no say in news decisions. See our policy.

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Lynchburg offers tuition discount on two programs

The University of Lynchburg is offering a tuition discount of 40% on two of its Master of Education programs: the MEd in Reading and the MEd in Special Education. The deadline to apply for the Fall 2022 semester is July 31, but interested teachers can apply anytime for upcoming semesters.

The discount for the two online programs lowers tuition for eligible Virginia teachers from $555 to just $333 per credit hour.

The move comes as school districts around the country are struggling to retain qualified teachers.

The MEd in Reading is offered 100% online and requires 36 credit hours. It features two emphases — Reading Instruction and Reading Specialist. See the curriculum at a glance for a comparison of the two emphases.

The program focuses on diagnosis, assessment, and remediation of reading problems, explicit reading and literature instruction, writing technology, and research methodology.

The MEd in Special Education is a 33-credit-hour program. While this program is also entirely online, student-teaching is only available within 90 miles of Lynchburg.

For more information about the MEd in Special Education, contact Dr. Andrew Bruce, program director and associate professor of special education, at 434.544.8607 or bruce.aa@lynchburg.edu. Learn how to apply on the MEd in Special Education website.

For more information about the MEd in Reading, contact Dr. Stefanie Copp, program director and assistant professor of language and literacy education, at 434.544.8508 or copp_s@lynchburg.edu. Learn how to apply on the MEd in Reading website

For questions about admission and the tuition discount, contact  Matt Johnston, director of graduate enrollment, at 434.544.8841 or johnston_m1@lynchburg.edu.

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UVA Wise offers free summer band camp

The University of Virginia’s College at Wise is offering its annual Summer
Band Conservatory again. Started in 2007, the series, which has been postponed the past few years because of the pandemic, is free and open to students grades eighth through 12.

The Summer Band Conservatory runs from July 11 through July 14 from 1 to 5 p.m. at the
College’s Gilliam Center for the Arts.Organizers are asking students sign up at https://tinyurl.com/uvawisebandcamp.

The final concert will be held on Thursday, July 14, at 4 p.m. at the College’s Black Box Theater.

For more information, contact UVA Wise Director of Bands and Music Education Richard
Galyean at 276-328-0235 or Rdg3y@uvawise.edu.