Teachers in rural parishes like St. Mary are heavily invested in their community. Many have lived there most of their lives.
Recognizing that commitment, the school district partnered with the 杏吧专区 to invest in those teachers, as well.
This semester, 18 teachers from St. Mary Parish complete UL Lafayette杏吧专区檚 Master of Education in Educational Leadership hybrid degree program. It is the second time a cohort from the school district participates and completes the program.
In addition, 10 teachers from Rapides Parish and six from the on-campus cohort graduate.
St. Mary Superintendent Dr. Teresa Bagwell says all of the district杏吧专区檚 initial 20 graduates from 2013 who wanted to be placed in administrative positions have been placed.
杏吧专区淲e杏吧专区檙e confident the people in our cohort are going to remain in St. Mary for the foreseeable future,杏吧专区 Dr. Bagwell says.
杏吧专区淔or our cohorts, we look for people with a strong work ethic who seek continuous learning who are progressive in their thinking and are highly committed to students.杏吧专区
Creating Solutions, Opportunity
Amanda Chase is one of those leaders.
With 15 years of teaching under her belt, Chase is accustomed to owning responsibilities in addition to managing her first-grade class at Wyandotte Elementary in her hometown, Morgan City.
Naturally, she was tapped to lead the school杏吧专区檚 Title I transition team.
She says if not for the Educational Leadership program, which emphasizes analyzing school data to create real solutions, she would have been lost.
杏吧专区淲henever I took over Title I, the first thing I had to do is analyze the school杏吧专区檚 data. So I was able to take it and run with it and help other people figure out how to analyze the data,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淚 would have never been able to do that if not for the data analysis I did through UL Lafayette. We learned how to analyze the data, what to look for, what needs to be analyzed; that was a huge help.杏吧专区
Chase describes herself as a lifelong learner. She says she杏吧专区檇 already acquired other add-on certification endorsements, so setting her sights on an administrative post was the natural next step.
Dr. Bagwell says for many in the rural parish, it can be difficult to attain a quality advanced education. UL Lafayette杏吧专区檚 hybrid program puts that in reach by meeting students where they are. In this case, the district杏吧专区檚 Central Office.
杏吧专区淭he accessibility of it being a satellite program brought in people who may not have pursued a master杏吧专区檚 degree otherwise,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淭he cohort we杏吧专区檙e graduating has three teachers who are pregnant. So I would envision they would not have driven from their homes in Morgan City to Lafayette.杏吧专区
In contrast to online programs where courses are entirely online, hybrid programs include a mix of face-to-face meetings and online coursework.
For the M.Ed. in Educational Leadership, students enter the program in a cohort and follow a specific sequence of courses over six semesters of the program.
Students take two courses each semester and meet in person for classes once a week. The material covered in those weekly meetings alternates: they attend only one class in person each week while completing online coursework for the other.
杏吧专区淪tudents really like this method of course delivery,杏吧专区 says associate professor Dr. Frank Del Favero, program coordinator. 杏吧专区淩ather than being out of the house two times per week for classes as in the traditional course delivery method, they are only out one night per week, allowing them more time for career and familial responsibilities.杏吧专区
By partnering with the districts to hold classes in satellite locations, the weekly face-to-face meetings were only 15 minutes from Chase杏吧专区檚 home, allowing her to focus on coursework instead of making it to multiple classes each week.
杏吧专区淚t杏吧专区檚 all just about being organized and setting a schedule,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淚 would try to come into school early to get things done before school, then spend a couple hours each night on schoolwork.杏吧专区
UL Lafayette杏吧专区檚 professors were also essential in making the program manageable for working teachers, she says.
杏吧专区淭he professors we had were amazing,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淭hey were there any time we needed help. They would answer our questions and were very patient with us.杏吧专区
Building a District-wide Leadership Network
Because students enroll in the hybrid master杏吧专区檚 program as a cohort, they quickly form a support network.
Dr. Bagwell says that built-in support has been invaluable in fostering district-wide collaboration.
杏吧专区淚t杏吧专区檚 built comradery of leadership across the parish because you now have people who have gotten to know each other very well in a professional and educational venue who will continue to work together and continue to collaborate even though they杏吧专区檙e at different schools,杏吧专区 she says.
Chase says her immediate goal is to work with other teachers to create the best possible learning experience for students.
But when she does take the next step, Chase says she杏吧专区檚 ready to recognize and build up other leaders.
杏吧专区淏eing a leader in the school doesn杏吧专区檛 mean it杏吧专区檚 your sole responsibility to take on everything,杏吧专区 Chase says. 杏吧专区淵ou have to be able to delegate, you have to be able to identify other leaders in your school to help you to run the school successfully.
杏吧专区淚t杏吧专区檚 also important to involve everyone in the process 杏吧专区 parents, students, community members. Everyone needs to be involved to make a successful school.杏吧专区
Investing in the Future
In addition to providing facilities, St. Mary Parish School District杏吧专区檚 investment includes tuition, making the district selective in its cohort recruitment and mindful of the program杏吧专区檚 rigor.
杏吧专区淲e杏吧专区檙e confident in this program杏吧专区檚 ability to prepare teachers for leadership positions,杏吧专区 Dr. Bagwell says. 杏吧专区淭here are a lot of online programs that are available that don杏吧专区檛 provide the same level academia as what UL Lafayette offers.杏吧专区
Dr. Bagwell says she杏吧专区檚 grateful for the relationship the district has built with UL Lafayette and the opportunity the 杏吧专区 has provided to give teachers a path forward.
杏吧专区淲e make a significant financial investment,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淲e do that because we want to invest in our people to give them a career path, not just a place to work.杏吧专区