Becoming a teacher will be more affordable and take less time for Smyth County students who want to take that career path, thanks to new programs announced by education leaders in Southwest Virginia.
Students can complete their degree in three years rather than four thanks to a new Teachers for Tomorrow program that allows them to start working toward it during their senior year of high school.
A program called Smyth County Promise will allow students who graduate from a Smyth County high school to attend a local community college for free.
And Emory & Henry College has agreed to offer a reduced tuition rate of $7,500 per year for students who go through the Teachers for Tomorrow program.
The programs were unveiled Wednesday during a news conference at Oak Point Elementary School in Marion. Leaders from E&H, Virginia Highlands Community College and Wytheville Community College attended and a memorandum of understanding was signed.
The program is a collaboration between the colleges and Smyth County Schools, the Smyth County Board of Supervisors and the Smyth County Community Foundation.
Called Teachers for Tomorrow 1+1+2, the program is designed to provide an “economic pathway” for students to become teachers and provides a quicker pipeline for graduates to enter the profession without the costs of a more traditional college experience, according to a news release.
Smyth County Schools Superintendent Dennis Carter said the cost of higher education can be a barrier to students and the collaboration “provides an affordable pathway for prospective educators. We are thankful to the partnerships within our community and with higher education to make this pathway a reality for our students who are interested in the teaching profession.”
Students who are part of the program will have learning opportunities during their senior year of high school through observation and volunteering within the county school system. They will be dually enrolled so that they finish their first year of college when they graduate from high school, the release states.
The second year will be spent, tuition-free, at one of the community colleges, and the third and fourth years will be completed through Emory & Henry at the reduced rate.
The program will allow the student to get their degree in three years at a cost of $15,000, prior to any financial assistance they might get, according to the release.
