Ivy Tech’s Lake County campus busy preparing future teachers

Thanks to the expansion of education courses, the next generation of teachers at local schools can get started on their careers at Ivy Tech Community College’s Lake County campus.

“There is a solid job market for teachers in Indiana,” Dale Downs, dean of the School of Arts, Sciences and Education at the campus, said. “As long as students finish their associate degrees with us, they will be able to transfer seamlessly to any public four-year school in Indiana.”

The Elementary Education program is new to the Lake County campus, while the Secondary Education pathway is new to Ivy Tech statewide.

The Lake County campus has locations in Crown Point, East Chicago and Gary. Other Ivy Tech campuses in Northwest Indiana include Valparaiso and Michigan City.

Both programs are part of Ivy Tech’s cadre of “Transfer as a Junior” programs, meaning students can complete the first two years of college at Ivy Tech, then transfer to a four-year school. This can result in savings of up to $12,000, compared to starting at a four-year institution.

Sharon Koch, program chair for Elementary and Secondary Education at Ivy Tech-Lake County, pointed out there is special need for teachers in Northwest Indiana in the areas of math and science. Students at Ivy Tech can earn an associate of science degree in biology or mathematics in the secondary education program to fill that need.

“We already offered Early Childhood Education, but since the new campus configuration, we added Elementary Ed in Lake County,” Koch said. Prior to this year, Gary and East Chicago were separate campuses and had been united with Valparaiso and Michigan City under the Northwest Region umbrella.

“With the program being out of the Arts & Sciences Building shared with Indiana University Northwest, we have already developed a relationship with their education department for a seamless transfer,” Koch explained, adding plans are in the works to do the same with other area colleges that offer education degrees.

In addition, Ivy Tech students completing the program with at least a 3.5 GPA can apply for a scholarship to Purdue Unive r s i t y- L a f aye t t e that would allow them to finish their secondary education teaching degree for free.

While relationships with local universities are not required for credits to transfer, it’s definitely a benefit.

“It’s good practice for us to stay informed of what other schools are doing and what they require,” Downs said. “For instance, starting a student portfolio now is a good idea, even though it is not required for transfer.”

A Junior Achievement representative recently visited Koch’s class to train students to present an activity at a local school.

“JA has ready-made projects that include all materials and training,” Koch said. “Many schools want JA to come to their building but unfortunately, they don’t have the number of volunteers to be able to do that. Classes such as this lend themselves naturally since students have to put in a required 20 hours of service learning. We are benefiting both the community and our Ivy Tech students through this partnership.

“What is nice about having Junior Achievement involved is that students will now discover through these activities if this is truly the profession that they want to pursue. This overview of education is what our EDUC 101 class is all about.”

Donna Kiesling is a marketing assistant for Ivy Tech Community College.