Anna Maria College’s Education Department recently received approval for an additional licensure level within the Moderate Disabilities M.Ed. Program. The licensure, Moderate Disabilities PK-2, approval will create more job opportunities for education students who will become future teachers.
To further support education students on their career track, Anna Maria College is offering a tuition discount to $510 per credit to students opting into any of the Moderate Disabilities track (K-2, K-8, 5-12). This new Moderate Disabilities tuition discount will alleviate the financial burden and further promote academic accessibility.
The newly approved licensure level, Moderate Disabilities PK-2, will prepare current or future educators to work in an area experiencing a shortage of qualified applicants.
Currently, there are more than 7.5 million American students who have learning differences or needs that qualify them for individual education plans, yet there is a nation-wide shortage of special education teachers. The Moderate Disabilities, PK-2, post-baccalaureate licensure program is just one of the ways that Anna Maria College is trying to fill a huge void in the education of young children, especially those who require additional support and care in the classroom.
Anna Maria College offers a moderate disabilities master’s program, along with the licensure levels of PK to 8th grade, and a 5th to 12th grade license. The PK to 2 is a narrower focus that has different MTEL exams associated with it. The new licensure level particularly appeals to undergraduate students in Anna Maria’s Early Childhood Education program since the MTEL exams required for both the Early Childhood license and Moderate Disabilities PK-2 license are the same. To add the Moderate Disabilities PK –2 license, additional coursework would be required but students would not need to take additional MTEL exams.
“The new licensure opens up job opportunities and makes our graduates more competitive in the job market. It is a natural progression for educators who want to become more specialized and add a license to their initial license,” said Shelie Wells, Anna Maria’s Chair of the Department of Education.
The program was reviewed and received informal approval by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) meaning that Anna Maria College is actively enrolling new candidates into the program as the formal approval process continues.
The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) is putting greater emphasis on early literacy due to literacy rates in the classroom. Currently about half of third graders are meeting literacy expectations while reading proficiency levels for black and Latinx students are less than half of the white students. According to DESE, this is not a reflection of student effort or ability but rather lack of opportunity and support needed to learn. As a result, education students with the focus of Pre-K to second grade will be highly sought after in the job market since this is the subgroup the Department of Education is targeting to improve literacy levels.
Ultimately, adding the Moderate Disabilities license by completing the M.Ed. Moderate Disabilities, PK-2, Program would be a natural progression for education students and the streamlined nature of the program makes it a “true” 5th Year option since students can complete both the course work and MTELs within that timeframe.
“I’m excited, because I know we have students that are interested in that licensure level, and I know that this is something they’ll gravitate to, so we will be able to serve the interests of our students while also addressing the larger need for teachers with this license in the community,” Wells said.
For more information about Anna Maria’s Education program visit: https://annamaria.edu/academics/graduate-studies/graduate-degrees/education-m-ed/
