Kathy Powers, an adjunct instructor with the University of Central Arkansas, College of Education and a UCA alumnus, was named the 2010 Arkansas Teacher of the Year. Since 2006, Ms. Powers has been teaching a graduate course in reading instruction for the College of Education Department of Early Childhood and Special Education each semester. Powers is a fifth- and sixth-grade literacy teacher at Raymond and Phyllis Simon Intermediate School in Conway. She earned her National Board Certification in 2006 and was named the Simon Intermediate Teacher of the Year and the Conway Public Schools District Teacher of the Year for 2010-2011.
Dr. Nancy P. Gallavan, professor in the College of Education, Department of Teaching and Learning, Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) Program, has published two new books on cultural diversity in the classroom. Navigating Cultural Competence, Grades K-5 (2011), and Navigating Cultural Competence, Grades 6-12 (2011), are published by Corwin Press. Each text presents the Gallavan Cultural Competence Compass, an eight-point model for guiding and supporting educators at all ages and stages with their efficacy and professionalism.
Master of Arts in Teaching Program Continues to Grow
Since 2006, the Master of Arts in Teaching program has placed 225 interns in Arkansas schools with most of the interns employed as full time teachers. They taught in 172 schools, equaling one-third of all Arkansas schools and extending across all regions of the state. Many of these schools are designated as critical academic teacher licensure shortage areas by the Arkansas Department of Education where UCA MAT interns have impacted the quality of education.
The mission of the MAT is to prepare highly qualified teachers for all Arkansas schools and students. The MAT is a 36 credit-hour program that features flexible scheduling, on-line courses, and provisional licenses allowing teacher candidates to work in Arkansas schools as classroom teachers while earning fully accredited master degrees.
The purpose of the MAT program is to offer a high quality alternative culminating in teacher licensure for teacher candidates who are choosing to pursue the teaching profession after earning undergraduate degrees in non-teaching fields. From its inception, the program has held firmly to the belief that all Arkansas students deserve effective teachers, and the program and faculty continue to enhance and improve the program to support this belief.
After only four years, the program was recognized by the Association of Teacher Educators as the 2010 Distinguished Program in Teacher Education
For more information about the UCA College of Education Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program, contact Dr. Gary Bunn, Program MAT Coordinator, at (501) 852-2964 or garyb@uca.edu. Teacher candidates are accepted for enrollment every semester, including summer sessions.