For Immediate Release:
December 11, 2024
Primary Media Contact:
Sally Voth
Public Relations Specialist
[email protected]
Phone: 540-868-7134
Laurel Ridge is part of an exciting new initiative to address the critical shortage of teachers. The Future Educators Academy (FEA) will see high school juniors and seniors brought to campus to begin teacher training.
The FEA is a lab school approved by the Virginia Board of Education in July 2023, and part of the General Assembly’s $100 million College Partnership Laboratory Fund established in 2022. Laurel Ridge is partnering with Germanna Community College on the project. Germanna’s first cohort of students began the academy in fall 2024, and Laurel Ridge’s first cohort begins in fall 2025.
Students attending the FEA will earn their associate degree in education while simultaneously earning their high school advanced studies diploma, and then transfer to a four-year university to complete their bachelor’s degree in education in as little as two years.
Both the Middletown and the Fauquier campuses will host cohorts of lab school students, said FEA Coordinator Brenda Byard.
She said the students will be on campus daily from 8 – 10:50 a.m. and return to their home schools in the afternoon with the corresponding public school divisions providing transportation to and from the college.
The cohort will take two classes that meet Monday and Wednesday, plus another two that will meet Tuesday and Thursday, with flex days on Friday. On those flex days, the students will visit four-year colleges, have professional development experiences and do practicums.
“The program is specifically designed to prepare students to be elementary and special education teachers,” Byard said. “Students will earn an associate of science degree in education that will transfer to a four-year university.”
Those students would then receive their bachelor’s degree in education within another two years, unless they wish to teach at the high school level, which would require about another year of extra coursework in the area they wish to specialize in.
Students accepted into the FEA will be asked to sign a two-year commitment to teach in their home school division following graduation as part of the effort to increase the number of teachers in the area, said Byard.
“There’s a critical shortage of teachers in both elementary and special education,” she said.
Students hoping to attend the FEA must have a 3.0 GPA, be in good disciplinary standing and have completed Algebra 2 by Aug. 1 of the year they’re enrolling.
“The academy is open to all students,” said Byard. “We want under-represented students. We also have embedded quite a bit of student support services in the courses, such as tutors. We want our students to be successful, and this is a college program. It’s a rigorous program. It is free to the students in our public school divisions.”
Laurel Ridge, in partnership with Germanna Community College, was awarded a $7 million grant to plan and implement the FEA.
“Germanna’s program started this fall, and their students are very excited,” Byard said. “We collaborate weekly with our colleagues at Germanna.”
Part of the collaboration is working to create articulation agreements with four-year schools, including the University of Mary Washington, Shenandoah University, George Mason University, James Madison University, Old Dominion University and the University of Virgina.
When the FEA opens at both the Middletown and Fauquier campuses next year, it can serve a total of 45 students – 30 at the Middletown Campus, and 15 at the Fauquier Campus – said Professor Lori Killough, education program lead.
“Students are chosen by a lottery system which is part of the grant,” she said. “It will be a very transparent, very public lottery system.”
Byard encouraged all students who are considering the teaching profession to apply to the FEA.
“These school divisions need teachers, and teaching is an awesome profession,” she said. “Every day is an opportunity to have an impact on a young person.”
“Students remember you for years and years and years,” added Professor Killough. “Our success as teachers is measured in our students’ success.”
And, the teaching vocation comes with job security, according to Byard.
“You’re always going to have a job, regardless of what happens in the economy,” she said. “You’re going to have medical insurance and retirement. You’re going to have those things that stabilize an individual as you grow in your profession.”
For more information about the FEA and to download an application, visit laurelridge.edu/FEA, or email [email protected]. Applications are being accepted through Jan. 30. Students can see their high school counselor or career coach for assistance with the application.
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Founded in 1970, Laurel Ridge Community College is a multi-campus public institution of higher education. With three locations — Middletown, Warrenton, and Luray-Page County — the College serves eight localities in the Shenandoah Valley and northern Piedmont regions. The localities are the counties of Clarke, Fauquier, Frederick, Page, Rappahannock, Shenandoah and Warren and the city of Winchester. Laurel Ridge offers more than 75 associate degree and certificate programs in a wide variety of disciplines, in addition to providing access to bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs offered on site by a four-year institution. Laurel Ridge also serves the business community by offering workforce preparation programs for employees and employers. Laurel Ridge serves more than 9,000 unduplicated credit students and more than 11,000 individuals in professional development and business and industry courses annually.
Laurel Ridge Community College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award associate degrees. Laurel Ridge Community College also may offer credentials such as certificates and diplomas at approved degree levels. Questions about the accreditation of Laurel Ridge Community College may be directed in writing to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, GA 30033-4097, by calling (404) 679-4500, or by using information available on SACSCOC’s website (www.sacscoc.org).
Laurel Ridge Community College is an equal opportunity institution providing educational and employment opportunities, programs, services, and activities. Laurel Ridge shall promote and maintain equal employment and educational opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnicity, marital status, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions including lactation, age (except when age is a bona fide occupational qualification), status as a veteran, national origin, or other non-merit factors. Laurel Ridge also prohibits sexual misconduct including sexual violence or harassment. Inquiries may be directed to the Associate Vice President, Human Resources, [email protected], 173 Skirmisher Lane, Middletown, VA 22645, 540-868-7226.
Laurel Ridge Community College was known as Lord Fairfax Community College until June 2022. For consistency purposes, the college will be referenced as Laurel Ridge going forward.
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