Saint Martin’s sets information sessions for alternative teacher certification program

January 8, 2008

Lacey, Washington – Saint Martin’s University will host information sessions on the Secondary Teacher Alternate Route (STAR) Program at 7 p.m. on Jan. 15, Jan. 29 and Feb. 11 at the University’s Norman Worthington Conference Center, 5300 Pacific Avenue SE. SMU’s STAR program provides working professionals with an intensive alternative route to becoming a secondary school teacher in Washington State.

The STAR program is designed for individuals who already have earned an undergraduate degree from an accredited college or university and have five years of professionally oriented work experience.

“Students enter the program equipped with valuable professional experience, eager to take on the challenges of teaching,” explains Ann Gentle, Ph.D., program coordinator and faculty member in SMU’s College of Education. “After just one year, they are ready to enter the classroom with teacher certification and two endorsement areas.”

The one-year program includes coursework and an internship to prepare participants for Washington State teacher certification. An $8,000 conditional loan scholarship is available to those participants who elect to work in a “high needs” academic area, such math, music, science, special education and English as a second language.

The information sessions will address entry requirements, program details, required classes and internships, financial information and teacher certification. Applications for the STAR program will be accepted beginning in January and will be considered in the order received until the program is filled. Most participants will begin classes June 16, 2008.

Further information regarding the STAR Program is available from the College of Education, 360-438-4333, or from Ann Gentle, Ph.D., 360-438-4566, agentle@stmartin.edu.

Saint Martin’s University is an independent four-year, Catholic, coeducational university located on a 320-acre wooded campus in Lacey, Washington. Established in 1895 by the Catholic Order of Saint Benedict, the University is one of 18 Benedictine colleges and universities in the United States and Canada, and the only one west of the Rocky Mountains. Saint Martin’s University prepares students for successful lives through its 21 majors and six graduate programs spanning the liberal arts, business, education and engineering. Saint Martin’s welcomes 1,250 students from many ethnic and religious backgrounds to its main campus, and 650 more to its five extension campuses located at Fort Lewis Army Post, McChord Air Force Base, Olympic College, Centralia College and Tacoma Community College.

For additional information:

Ann Gentle, Ph.D.
STAR Program coordinator
360-438-4566
agentle@stmartin.edu