New three-year teaching degrees available to Yuma students
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – Arizona State University and Arizona Western College are giving Yuma students a faster path to becoming teachers.
The schools are partnering to offer three-year bachelor’s degrees in elementary and special education. Students can start at AWC and finish their degree through ASU’s Yuma extension.
The program comes as schools across Arizona continue to deal with a shortage of qualified teachers.
Audrey Garcia, a clinical associate professor and rural strategist at ASU’s Mary Lou Fulton College, says students will still get the same academic and hands-on classroom experience through the program.
“Students are still getting that academic rigor. They’re still also getting clinical experience exposure. So they’re still going into classrooms and still getting that experience working hands on with students as well.”
Garcia says the program also gives students a way to meet teacher certification requirements while staying in Yuma County.
AWC Transfer Center Director Martha Cordova says about 68% of AWC students transfer to universities. Of those students, about 14% pursue elementary education and 4% pursue special education.
Cordova says creating more opportunities locally could help more students see teaching as a career they can pursue close to home.
“If we invest in our students, we’re truly investing in our community,” Cordova said.
For Yuma students interested in teaching, the new pathway offers a faster way into the classroom while helping build the local teacher workforce.
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