Teacher education program caters to those with degrees

Monday, Aug. 2, 1999 | 9:15 a.m.

For the past 10 years a private liberal arts college at Incline Village on the shores of Lake Tahoe has been teaching teachers -- training people with degrees to qualify for teaching credentials.

This year, Sierra Nevada College is bringing its unusual program to Southern Nevada, where the college will rent space from the Clark County School District and join the battle to meet an overwhelming demand for new teachers.

"The program is designed for people with degrees who would like a license to teach," said Richard White, who created the program at the 30-year-old college and is directing its extension school in Clark County.

White said the program will teach degreed people what they need to know to become successful teachers.

"We turn out 100 or so certified teachers a year," White said.

The first classes will begin Sept. 7 at a to-be-determined Clark County school.

White said he wants to see where the students for the program will come from before setting a location.

"If most students are in Henderson, it wouldn't make sense to have the classes in Las Vegas," he said.

White said he anticipates 30 or 40 students to begin with and hopes to double that in the spring and to continue to grow after that.

The school district estimates it will need 2,000 new teachers a year.

UNLV, the Community College of Southern Nevada and the school district have instituted a variety of programs to address the problem.

The district and community college are working together to provide a basic education for district employees, such as bus drivers, who would like to get a degree and go into teaching.

UNLV has stepped up its teacher education efforts. President Carol Harter says in 1997 there were 82 in the program and today there 536.

CCSN has entered into partnerships with a number of private colleges, including Regis University and the University of Phoenix.

And it is having discussions with Sierra Nevada College.

White says he hopes a deal can be worked so that the private college, which has a student enrollment at its Incline Village campus of between 500 and 600, can hold classes at the Henderson campus of the community college, where Foothill High School is also located.

The Sierra Nevada program includes 34 credit-hours of work including such courses as psychological foundations of education and teaching methods in classes of about 15 students.

Classes go from 4 p.m. to 10:20 p.m. with some classes on Saturdays.

The cost is $280 per credit -- $9,450 for the entire program. Financial aid and payment plans are available, White said.

To be admitted students need at least a bachelor's degree, must have maintained a 3.0 grade point average or better and must pass a basic skills tests in reading, writing, math, other subjects and a specialty area.