ESCANABA — Lake Superior State University, in partnership with Bay College, has announced its baccalaureate programs in elementary education and secondary education will be available entirely in Escanaba starting the fall 2020 semester.

Recognizing the shortage in qualified teachers in Michigan, LSSU and Bay College are working together to offer local citizens the ability to pursue their teaching degree without leaving the area.

With 100% job placement, graduates of LSSU’s education programs are prepared to teach and are rated effective or highly effective by their principles in their first year of teaching. Students benefit by staying local with tuition cost savings by earning 44-73 credits from Bay College, depending on program selection, and the rest from LSSU.

With fieldwork and student teaching placements in local elementary, middle and high schools, teacher ed candidates can impact K-12 students and begin to build a network and reputation for future hiring. Individuals interested in pursuing an elementary education teaching degree can concentrate their degree in areas of early childhood, learning disabilities, language arts, mathematics, or language arts and mathematics. Secondary education majors are offered concentrations in English language and literature, mathematics, integrated science, or social science.

“We are very excited to expand our partnership with Bay College and prepare teachers,” Dr. Barb Light, LSSU’s Dean of the College of Education & Liberal Arts, said. “School superintendents and principals often talk about the advantages of home growing our own teachers in the U.P. because someone raised in the U.P. will be more likely to want to stay long term in the U.P. and our PK-12 students deserve teachers who are fully invested in our schools and communities.”

Research shows that the teacher is the single most important factor in student academic achievement and last year 60% of Michigan schools started the school year without enough certified full time teachers with urban and rural schools struggling the most with this issue. (See https://www.bridgemi.com/talent-education/majority-michigan-public-schools-started-school-year-short-teachers for more info on this.) We are excited to expand our partnership with Bay College to prepare more teachers and do what we can to address the teacher shortage by preparing teachers for our own UP schools and beyond.”

“We are very happy to be able to expand our options for our education students at Bay College. The demand and the interest in education is great, and we are excited to partner with LSSU to offer an option that students can complete without leaving home,” said Dr. Amy Reddinger, Bay College’s Dean of Arts and Sciences.

LSSU has operated a regional center on Bay College’s campus since 1989, offering 4-year degrees in accounting, business administration, criminal justice, early childhood education and general studies, in addition to the newly added elementary and secondary education majors. Students also have the option to transfer to LSSU’s main campus in Sault Ste. Marie for these degrees, among others. For more information, or to be considered as a fieldwork location, please visit www.lssu.edu/regional-center/Escanaba or contact Heidi Rife, 906-217.4123 or hberg@lssu.edu

“Our regional centers provide an excellent opportunity for students to pursue a Superior Education through LSSU when they are unable to relocate to our main campus. Our regional center staff is a great resource in developing a plan towards a LSSU degree,” Dr. Rodney Hanley, President of LSSU, said.

Lake Superior State University is one of Michigan’s most affordable public universities with One-Rate at Lake State tuition for all. Surrounded by three Great Lakes, LSSU is an unsurpassed location for research, focusing on real-world experiences.

Well known for programs such as fisheries and wildlife management, engineering, nursing, criminal justice, and fire science; Lake State is also leading the way with innovative new programs, including cannabis chemistry, cannabis business and robotics engineering. For more information, visit LSSU.edu.