Taniqua Pennix
Reporter
Spartanburg Community College in SC introduces new school of education
NONPROFIT. SPARTANBURG COMMUNITY COLLEGE HAS CREATED A NEW SCHOOL OF EDUCATION TO HELP MEET THE NEEDS OF THE UPSTATE’S GROWING DEMAND FOR TEACHERS AND OUR TANIQUA PENNIX JOINS US LIVE FROM SPARTANBURG COMMUNITY COLLEGE TONIGHT. WHERE WILL YOU TALK TO THE DEAN OF THE NEW SCHOOL OF EDUCATION, AND HOW ARE THEY PLANNING TO RECRUIT AND TRAIN IN A FIELD THAT SO MANY PEOPLE ARE LEAVING. WELL, JANE, THERE ARE A VARIETY OF REASONS OF WHY TEACHERS ARE LEAVING, WHETHER THAT’S RETIRING OR LEAVING FOR MORE PAY. I TALKED TO THE DEAN OF THE NEW SCHOOL OF EDUCATION, AND SHE TALKED ABOUT THE CURRENT STATE OF EDUCATORS AND HOW THEY’RE TRYING TO PLAY THEIR PART TO KEEP THEM TO STAY AND TEACH. THE NEED FOR TEACHERS IS EVIDENT AT THE MOST RECENT SOUTH CAROLINA EDUCATOR SUPPLY AND DEMAND REPORT SHOWS THERE WERE MORE THAN 1600 TEACHER VACANCIES AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 20 2324 SCHOOL YEAR, COMPARED TO 1470 FOR THE PREVIOUS YEAR. THE REPORT ALSO SHOWS ON AVERAGE, MORE THAN 7000 EDUCATORS IN SOUTH CAROLINA PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICTS LEAVE THEIR POSITIONS EACH YEAR. SO WE KNOW THAT SOUTH CAROLINA, ALONG WITH THE NATION, IS FACING A TEACHER SHORTAGE. AS A FORMER CLASSROOM TEACHER MYSELF, I KNOW THAT IT REQUIRES A LOT OF PASSION AND IT REQUIRES, YOU KNOW, STAYING CURRENT AND RELEVANT BACK IN FEBRUARY OF THIS YEAR, DOCTOR BONITA YAO WAS APPOINTED TO BE THE DEAN OF SPARTANBURG COMMUNITY COLLEGE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION. DOCTOR YAO SAYS THEY ARE DOING EVERYTHING THEY CAN TO ADDRESS THE TEACHER SHORTAGES, WHICH INCLUDES MAKING SURE THEIR STUDENTS ARE PROPERLY TRAINED, EVEN GIVING THEM OPPORTUNITIES TO GET CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE BEFORE THEY GET TOO FAR INTO THE EDUCATIONAL ASPECT IN THE COLLEGES. THEY HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY HERE TO TAKE SOME OF OUR EDU COURSES, AND THEY THEY GET OPPORTUNITIES TO OBSERVE, THEY GET OPPORTUNITIES TO MEET WITH OTHER TEACHERS SO THAT THEY ARE MORE AWARE OF WHAT TEACHING LOOKS LIKE. THROUGH DOCTOR YAO S EXTENSIVE 30 YEAR CAREER IN EDUCATION, SHE’S NOTED THE CHANGES IN THE FIELD OF TEACHING, BUT ONE THING STILL REMAINS THAT TEACHERS ARE NEEDED BECAUSE THEY PROVIDE THAT FOUNDATION FOR EVERYTHING THAT WE DO IN THE WORLD. AND DOCTOR YAO GOES ON TO SAY, THEY ARE WORKING WITH THEIR PARTNERS TO MAKE SURE THAT STUDENTS CAN GET THEIR COURSES HERE AT SCC AND THEN TRANSFER TO A FOUR YEAR INSTITUTION. REPORTING LIVE IN SPARTANBURG, TANIQUA PENNI
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Spartanburg Community College in SC introduces new school of education
Taniqua Pennix
Reporter
Amid teacher shortages, Spartanburg Community College created a new school of education to make it easier to become a certified teacher while still making sure individuals are well-equipped for the growing demand. The population in the Upstate is growing, which means a higher demand for educators. The most recent SC Educator Supply and Demand report shows there were more than 1600 teacher vacancies at the beginning of the 2023-24 school year compared to 1474 the previous year. That’s why Spartanburg Community College has launched its New School of Education.It combines the school’s current education and early care & education department under one umbrella, and they’ve appointed Benita Yowe as the new dean, who says they are doing everything they can to address the shortages, which includes making sure their students are properly trained, even giving them opportunity to get classroom experience, “before they get too far into the program into the educational aspect in the colleges they have an opportunity here to take some of our EDU courses and they get opportunities to observe and to meet with other teachers so that they are more aware of what teaching looks like,” she said.owe says to be a teacher, it takes passion, and they’re exploring options that make it easier for students who graduate from SCC with their associate degree to transfer to four year institutions and earn their teacher degree.
SPARTANBURG COUNTY, S.C. —
Amid teacher shortages, Spartanburg Community College created a new school of education to make it easier to become a certified teacher while still making sure individuals are well-equipped for the growing demand.
The population in the Upstate is growing, which means a higher demand for educators. The most recent SC Educator Supply and Demand report shows there were more than 1600 teacher vacancies at the beginning of the 2023-24 school year compared to 1474 the previous year. That’s why Spartanburg Community College has launched its New School of Education.
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It combines the school’s current education and early care & education department under one umbrella, and they’ve appointed Benita Yowe as the new dean, who says they are doing everything they can to address the shortages, which includes making sure their students are properly trained, even giving them opportunity to get classroom experience, “before they get too far into the program into the educational aspect in the colleges they have an opportunity here to take some of our EDU courses and they get opportunities to observe and to meet with other teachers so that they are more aware of what teaching looks like,” she said.
owe says to be a teacher, it takes passion, and they’re exploring options that make it easier for students who graduate from SCC with their associate degree to transfer to four year institutions and earn their teacher degree.
