MADISON, S.D. (KELO) — It’s hardly news that many K-12 school districts in South Dakota struggle to hire qualified teachers each year. But something new to address the shortage is about to be tried by the state government panel that oversees South Dakota’s public universities.
The South Dakota Board of Regents on Thursday approved a new undergraduate certificate called Gateway To Teacher Education that will be available to high school juniors and seniors as well as undergraduate students at five of the universities.
To get the certificate, students will need to complete an introduction to education course, an introductory course about persons with exceptionalities, a course in U.S. history or a course on South Dakota American Indian culture and education, and a course in either foundations of composition or communication.
The certificates will be available through South Dakota State University, University of South Dakota, Dakota State University, Northern State University or Black Hills State University. Plans call for the courses to be available on those campuses and online, as well as in those K-12 school districts that choose to participate.
The goal is to encourage more high school students to attend universities to become teachers in South Dakota by offering a way for them to jumpstart their careers and become familiar with the teaching profession before they graduate high school.
Information presented to the regents on Thursday noted, “The need for teachers in South Dakota is estimated to increase by 7% by 2030. As of January 2024, South Dakota saw approximately 300 vacant teaching positions.”
Two of the regents’ central senior staff, Janice Minder and Pamela Carriveau, worked with the universities’ provosts and the state Department of Education in designing the program. The intended student outcomes include:
— Earn experience observing, leading and facilitating instruction in elementary education classrooms.
— Analyze the basic issues that impact public education, such as legal/ethical, financial, organizational, technological and political.
— Communicate clearly in a variety of ways such as written, verbal and non-verbal to achieve a defined purpose.
— And analyze the impact of diverse perspectives in various historical contexts.
Harrisburg educator Travis Lape praised the Gateway concept as “a really creative way to engage our high school students” with the universities in remarks during the meeting’s public-comment period. “Our future teachers are sitting in our communities right now,” he said. “We have to engage them. We have to bring them together.”
Carriveau, the regents’ associate vice president for academic programming, presented the plan. “It really exemplifies how we’re trying to meet South Dakota workforce needs,” she said.
Student Regent Brock Brown said that university students sometimes find they’ve taken the wrong courses during their early semesters. “This is such a benefit, because it provides clear direction,” he said.
Rave, the board’s president, said the approach goes “where people haven’t gone before.”
“This kind of innovative thinking will help address workforce needs well into the future,” he said.
