Recruitment for second cohort of Kern Math/English HS Teachers underway

Master’s Upskill Program supports dual enrollment

initiatives in concert with the Kern K-16 Collaborative

(UPDATE – JUNE 22, 2023):  Kern high school teachers – A few cohort seats are still available for the Kern Dual Enrollment Teacher Up-skilling Pathway for English and Mathematics that qualifies high school teachers to teach dual enrollment courses at their campus. Online information sessions will be held June 27, July 11, 18 and 25 at 4:30 p.m. Classes begin in August. Register for the Math Education Information Meeting Zoom link at:  https://bit.ly/3KKY8ZT.  

(APRIL 20, 2023) — Applications are now available for the second cohort of Kern high school math teachers to enroll in the  Kern Dual Enrollment Teacher Upskilling Pathway for English and Mathematics that qualifies them to teach dual enrollment courses.

With the application priority deadline June 2, 2023, the next information session is April 25 at 4:30 p.m. for the second cohort. Classes begin this August and complete in May 2025. Additional info dates are set for May 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30 at 4:30 p.m.

The Master’s Upskill Program — a partnership of the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium and the Kern Regional K-16 Education Collaborative — is part of an $18 million statewide competitive grant awarded to the Kern Collaborative in 2022 to improve student progress from high school to postsecondary education and ultimately into the workforce.

The Kern teacher up-skilling component, which CVHEC first implemented in Fresno County in 2021 with similar state funding, received $1,738,975 to produce, over three years, up to 100 qualified dual enrollment teachers to teach English and Math. The master’s programs are offered by CVHEC member institutions National University and Fresno Pacific University, respectively.

Each cohort student may also be paired with a math or English professor mentor from a local community college district. The master’s degree also qualifies the high school teachers to work as adjunct instructors in a community college. The mentor program is coordinated by Dr. Liz Rozell (math) and Dr. Vikash Lakhani (English).

The first cohort of 21 math teachers began in January and ends in July 2024.

The first English cohort of 50 teachers enrolled also is now in session with degree conferrals planned for June 2024. (The fall 2023 English cohort is full with a waitlist developed from the first recruitment campaign last fall so no English recruitment campaign is necessary).

For the math component, courses run five semesters total with two 3-unit courses per semester. Synchronous class meetings are held on Tuesdays from 5:15-9 p.m. with two hours of asynchronous reading and assignments per class.

They cover a range of mathematics topics such as advanced algebra, geometry and calculus. The program includes courses like Teaching Math for Social Justice and Data Science. Students read the research in math education and complete a series of three comprehensive exam papers embedded in the coursework.

“The majority of tuition costs are covered by the generous funding from Kern’s Regional K16 Education Collaborative, CVHEC and the AIMS Education Foundation,” said Dr. Manjula Joseph, FPU’s program director. “Rich and rigorous content, equity and technology training will better prepare you to serve your students.”

The National University program is for English Single Subject credential holders who are interested in pursuing a Master’s degree in English with a specialization in Rhetoric.

The NU program takes 12-months or less to complete: ten courses; (45 quarter units); fully online, asynchronous instruction; one course per month format; cohort-based model with 16 students per cohort.

English cohort students receive $14,000 each from Kern’s Regional K16 Education Collaborative and CVHEC and a 15 percent ($2,990) employee tuition reduction per student from the Small School Districts’ Association (SSDA) partnership with National University.

Dr. Benjamín T. Durán, CVHEC executive director, said the Master’s Upskill Program provides more opportunities for Kern high school students to enroll in dual enrollment courses – college courses for high school students — on their respective campuses that in turn increases college success rate.

“Dual enrollment continues to increase in the region but one of the deterrents of dual enrollment opportunities is the lack of high school teachers who have a Master’s degree to teach these gateway English and Math courses,” Durán said.

“Schools in the Kern K-16 Collaborative service area deserve to have the capacity to partner with their local community colleges so their students can use dual enrollment classes as one strategy for completion of their degrees in a timely manner,” he added. “This Master’s Upskilling Program is a major step in equipping our hard-working secondary teachers with this great academic opportunity that ultimately benefits their students.”

For more information about the English cohort and information sessions, contact Jessica Gladney, program coordinator, at jgladney@nu.edu.

For more information about the math cohort and information sessions, contact Dr. Joseph at manjula.joseph@fresno.edu or 559.453.2096; or Nathan Lyness, Graduate Outreach and Recruit rep, Customer Care coordinator at nathan.lyness@fresno.edu or 559.453.7183.

Register for the Math Education Information Meeting Zoom link at:  https://bit.ly/3KKY8ZT.

See program details:

• Fresno Pacific University Math MA Program
• National University English MA program

For media inquiries, contact: Tom Uribes at 559.348.3278 (tom@uribes.com)