Teacher Education students set to earn FLC's first-ever master's degrees
Fort Lewis College took a giant leap into the future in January 2012, when the Higher Learning Commission approved FLC's first graduate program: a Master of Arts in Education, Teacher Leadership Option. The first students in the M.A. program and the associated graduate-level Teacher Leadership Certificate program began their studies in Fall 2013.
And this May, that first cohort of 24 working educators will walk across the stage in Whalen Gymnasium as the first-ever students to earn their master's degrees at Fort Lewis College. The next two-year master's cohort begins Fall 2015.
“It will be exciting to see the first master's degree students in Fort Lewis College's hundred-plus-year existence walk across the stage at graduation,” says FLC President Dene Kay Thomas. “These students represent a successful evolution for FLC as we fulfill the College's mission of preparing graduates for an increasingly complex world. I am very proud of our first master's degree grads and can't wait to shake their hands!”
A teacher education program is a logical first graduate program for FLC, whose roots in teaching teachers goes back more than 100 years, to 1914, when a “rural teacher training” program was established at what was then known as the Fort Lewis School of Agriculture & Mechanic Arts.
Today the Fort Lewis College Teacher Education Department still plays a vital role in the training of local and regional educators.
“We need teachers with the skills and know-how to make a difference in their classrooms, schools, and communities,” says Richard Fulton, director of the Teacher Education Department. “Now they're able to get those graduate-level skills and know-how right here in the Four Corners.”
The program focuses on the needs of classroom teachers in the region who want to be agents of change for improved student learning in their schools and their districts, as instructional coaches or as leaders of academic learning communities. The program is in a hybrid format, with class meetings in the evening supplemented with online coursework.
“The program is designed for the working educator, so the online component is convenient. But since our campus is nearby, students also get an engaged, personalized, and collaborative experience,” says Fulton. “And because we're based here, we know the context and challenges of the region, and so we can work with the situations and initiatives our students are facing in their particular schools.”
Two years after welcoming its first cohort in the new master's program, those practicing educators who comprise the cohort seem to think the program achieved its goals. When reflecting on their graduate-school journey, students in the program cite benefits that are practical and have already impacted their teaching.
Crystal Croke, in her sixth year teaching at Mesa Elementary School, in Cortez, says, “The most worthwhile skill I am taking away from this program is the capacity to push myself beyond my comfort zone. To really look at what is going on in our world of education, and the possible role I can play in changing what we do now for the better.”
“Our position as leaders allows us to take what we have learned and experienced in the program back to our schools and districts,” she says.
For Petra Lyon, who teaches choir and drama at Hermosa Middle School, in Farmington, N.M., the diverse and varied cohort of fellow graduate students was itself unique and valuable.
“I am a highly progressive thinker, and my curriculum is reflective of this. So to walk into a classroom of teachers who are of the same mind as me was not only refreshing, but also comforting,” says Lyon. “The relationships I have built in this program will be long lasting. I am certain of it. We have learned as much from each other as we have from the program itself.”
The program even has benefits for non-teaching professionals who work with students, says Jessica Adams, an academic advisor with Talent Search, a federal TRIO program serving southwestern Colorado and based out of Fort Lewis College. Adams works with 7th through 12th grade students in the Cortez and Mancos school districts.
“Since being in this master's program, I have worked alongside both of my school district administrations to help them complete their goals as well as fulfill my job responsibilities,” says Adams. “My relationships have greatly improved in both school districts because of this.”
She adds, “Instructional coaching, multicultural education, and assessments are also skills that I have learned in the program and have been able to bring back to my co-workers for future implementation.”
Even though their first-of-its-kind experience together ends with Spring Commencement in May, the impact of the program will continue, says Croke.
“This master's program has left a lasting impact on us all,” she concludes. “We will come out of it stronger and better prepared to deal with the challenges in education than ever before.”
Learn how you can earn your master's degree in Teacher Leadership at Fort Lewis College. The next two-year cohort begins Fall 2015.
Teacher Education meet & greet
5:30-6:30 p.m., Tuesday, April 7
Durango Public Library, Program Room #2
graduate.fortlewis.edu/teacher-leadership