Florida schools opened this fall with an estimated 5,000 unfilled teaching positions – proof that training new teachers is more crucial than ever in the Sunshine State.
The University of Florida’s College of Education is meeting this challenge by offering a fully online program that helps equip current and future educators with a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education – along with options for certifications and endorsements in high-need areas, such as English for Speakers of Other Languages. The program’s first cohort started in August.
“There’s such a critical teacher shortage, especially in early childhood education and special education,” said Tara Mathien, Ed.D., a clinical assistant professor of early childhood education, who played a critical role in developing the Bachelor of Arts in Education in Early Childhood Education program. “Our Early Childhood Education degree has a Prekindergarten Disabilities Endorsement, so filling that need for the state is really important as well. We were thinking about what we could do to meet those needs, so we created an online degree.”