New program helps North Valley high school teachers get their master’s degree

Recruitment is now underway to help selected North Valley high school English and math teachers earn a master's degree and qualify to teach college dual-enrollment courses.

The North Valley Master's Upskilling Program is presented by the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium (CVHEC) thanks to a $400,000 grant by the WE Will! K-16 Workforce and Education Collaborative.

The upskilling program recruits and helps fund tuition for high school math and English teachers to earn a master's to teach dual-enrollment courses on their high school campuses.

As part of the effort, Fresno Pacific University, a CVHEC member, is recruiting for its online M.A. in Mathematics Education program. There will be an information session November 19 from 4:40-5:40 p.m. Register at www.fresno.edu/graduate/grad-connect. For more information, contact: Manjula Joseph, Ph.D., program director at [email protected] or 559-453-2096. (Also: [email protected] or 559-453-3690).

The grant is one of two awarded to CVHEC to serve northern Valley counties over the next three years. It will cover much of the cost of coursework for 12 high school English and 12 high school math teachers and provide them with community college mentors.

CVHEC is working with superintendent of schools offices in Merced, San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties to recruit high school teachers as well as with community colleges to identify mentors. The first cohorts are set to begin in spring 2025.

Participants will take two courses per semester for completion in summer 2026 with synchronous Zoom meetings on Wednesdays from 5:15-9:00 p.m. The We Will!/CVHEC funding provides $12,500 per student and AIMS Education foundation provides an additional $5,000 per student. Students are also eligible to apply for the Federal TEACH grant.

BACKGROUND

Established in 2019 to encourage dual enrollment, the Central Valley Dual Enrollment for Equity and Prosperity (CVDEEP) Task Force is made up of more than 150 Central Valley secondary and postsecondary education leaders who gather annually for CVHEC dual enrollment convenings.

The Master's Upskilling Program was the outcome of CVDEEP's 2022 convening when member colleges throughout the 10-county region identified an urgent need for high schools, especially rural schools, to offer dual enrollment courses on their campuses. Unfortunately, those same schools lacked teachers with the minimum qualification for teaching at a community college-a master's degree.

Dual enrollment supports CVHEC's mission to increase college degree and certificate attainment rates for Central Valley students and helps fulfill the collaborative's education-to-career pipeline goal.

The North Valley Tri-County Workforce and Education (WE Will!) K-16 Collaborative unites Merced, San Joaquin and Stanislaus Counties with CVHEC-member University of California, Merced as well as four other fellow CVHEC members : Merced College, Modesto Junior College, San Joaquin Delta College and California State University, Stanislaus. The collaborative also includes K-12 school districts, county offices of education, economic development agencies and local and regional employers.

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