Next Stop: Teach UCPS – a Partnership with UCPS, South Piedmont Community College, and Wingate University
Like many school districts across the nation, Union County Public Schools (UCPS) is struggling to fill vacant teacher positions. A report released Feb. 1 by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction shows that there are nearly 5,500 instructional vacancies statewide.
Through an innovative partnership with Wingate University and South Piedmont Community College (SPCC), UCPS is proud to announce Next Stop: TeachUCPS, a teacher pipeline program for students and employees. This new strategy will help UCPS to grow its own teachers and provide a roadmap that removes financial barriers for pursuing a teaching license.
“The teacher shortage is increasing and we have to innovate locally to address recruitment and retention,” said Superintendent Dr. Andrew Houlihan. “We are blessed to have SPCC and Wingate University as partners. With their help, we can open doors and create new opportunities for students and staff to go to college and become certified teachers.”
Next Stop: TeachUCPS has four pathways—three for high school students and one for teacher assistants. Students can begin taking classes in ninth grade, earn an associate’s degree from SPCC and then enroll in the Road to Wingate program to earn a college degree. Teacher assistants can follow a similar path to become a certified teacher.
In addition to classes, the pathways will provide internships and field experiences for students. Currently, UCPS is offering the traditional pathway at Weddington High School. Students are receiving hands-on experience by working with teachers and students at Weddington Elementary School and Weddington Middle School. Through this pathway, students will have the opportunity to participate in a Career and Technical Education (CTE) internship and work on lesson planning with staff, attend planning meetings on teacher workdays and teach small or whole-group lessons. This same pathway will expand to Porter Ridge High School in the 2023-2024 school year.
“When I enrolled in the Teaching as a Profession class, I expected to learn the basics of how to be a teacher,” said Mia Anderson, a senior at Weddington High School. “I learned so much more in this class than I ever had in mind. I gained new insight on how different ages of children act, how to curate a classroom that is inclusive, how each student has a unique learning style, and that a classroom is made up of several different parts, not just the academic instruction.”
Next Stop: Teach UCPS Pathways
Associate’s Pathway
- Available to all UCPS high school students
- Beginning in ninth grade, students complete aggressive dual enrollment program in partnership with SPCC
- Students exit high school with a diploma and Teacher Preparation Associate’s degree
- Zero tuition for associate’s degree
- Gateway to Wingate Scholarship = no more than $2,500 per year
Pre-Apprentice Pathway
- This option is currently a CTE pathway at Weddington High School with plans to expand to Porter Ridge High School in 2023-2024
- Students register as Teacher Pre-Apprentice
- Students may be hired by UCPS upon graduation as a teacher assistant and register as an apprentice
- Students attend SPCC to complete their Associate’s degree and then attend Wingate University to complete their Bachelor’s degree within four years
- Zero tuition for associate’s degree
- Gateway to Wingate Scholarship = no more than $2,500 per year
University Pathway
- This option is currently a CTE pathway at Weddington High School with plans to expand to Porter Ridge High School in 2023-2024
- Students complete CTE program, Teaching as a Profession and attend a four-year university of their choice
- May transfer up to seven credits directly to a four-year university
- Become a classroom teacher four years after high school graduation
- Student incurs cost
Teacher Assistant
- Earn an associate’s degree from SPCC
- Gateway to Wingate scholarship
- Become a classroom teacher in two to four years after earning a bachelor’s degree
- Zero tuition for associate’s degree
- UCPS scholarship—UCPS pays up to $2,500 per year
Interested students: Contact your school counselor, visit ucpscte.org, review UCPS Program of Studies.
Interested Teacher Assistants: Contact the UCPS Human Resources Department at recruitment@ucps.k12.nc.us or Ms. Sandra Leyva at Wingate University at s.leyva@wingate.edu.
Article from UCPS Website: https://www.ucps.k12.nc.us/site/default.aspx?PageType=3&DomainID=4&ModuleInstanceID=11&ViewID=6446EE88-D30C-497E-9316-3F8874B3E108&RenderLoc=0&FlexDataID=69218&PageID=1
To apply for the Teaching as a Profession Academy, please visit https://ucpscte.org/academy/teaching-as-a-profession-taap/