Making Teacher Preparation More Affordable, Accessible, and Flexible By Kevin Laack, Director of Student Recruitment, Arizona State University’s Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College As part of its commitment to address the challenges facing Arizona’s education workforce, Arizona State University’s Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College has redesigned its teacher-preparation programs to make them more affordable and accessible to more people pursuing both undergraduate and graduatelevel teacher certification. Affordability The Arizona Teachers Academy at ASU scholarship students complete an initial teacher certification program and fulfill a commitment to teach in Arizona public schools after graduation. ATA at ASU tuition scholarships are available on a first-come, first-served basis for eligible undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in programs that lead to teacher certification. Priority is given to Arizona residents. For undergraduates, priority is also given to students with junior standing or higher. That includes community college transfers and other transfers. Additionally, a combination of federal funds and Arizona Department of Education funds has allowed us to implement a program we call Preparing Early Childhood Educators for Arizona’s Indian Communities, or PEAIC. The program seeks to prepare 140 certified teachers who commit to teaching on tribal lands or in schools that serve a high proportion of Native American students. The PEAIC program provides funding and support “Stronger Together!” for students pursuing bachelor’s (continued on page 22) Page 20 covers tuition and fees when degrees in early childhood education or special education and elementary education. ATA at ASU scholarships are open to both tribal members and non-tribal individuals who work on indigenous lands or in schools that serve a large number of indigenous students. Overall, in addition to PEAIC, ASU’s more accessible teacher-certification programs include two remote formats for graduate-level teacher-certification programs and one remote format available to undergraduate students who live outside Maricopa County. • ASU Sync offers regularly scheduled evening classes via synchronous learning over Zoom. Instructors and students are not in the same physical space but do meet at the same time, offering a live learning experience with peers and faculty. This option is available for both undergraduate and graduate programs. • ASU Online offers classes via asynchronous instruction. Instructors and students are not in the same physical space and do not meet at the same time, allowing students to complete coursework on their own schedules. This option is available for graduate programs. The expansion of Arizona Teachers Academy tuition scholarships means that both undergraduates and graduate students will have all their tuition and fees covered if they commit to teaching in Arizona schools after certification.
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