ECU partners with LCC to train teachers
Lenoir Community College President Dr. Rusty Hunt (left)shakes hands with Art Rouse, Interim Dean of the College of Education at ECU (right) after signing the agreement. Submitted photo.
Lenoir Community College and East Carolina University have formed an agreement called Partnership Teach, which allows students who have already completed college credit to complete their degree in education online.
Partnership Teach was officially unveiled as the new name for the ECU College of Education’s online degree completion model. In the program, formerly known as Partnership East, students take courses at a North Carolina community college and then transfer to ECU to complete a teaching degree.
“The name Partnership East reflected the original footprint which was only in eastern N.C. We continue to focus our efforts in the east, but over the years, we have expanded our online opportunities to all 100 counties,” said Kathy Bradley, Partnership Teach coordinator. “With this being the last year we receive funding from the SECU Foundation, it was a good time to embrace the name change to Partnership Teach which better reflects our mission of growing teachers through partnership.”
The agreement will allow LCC students, as well as 23 other two-year colleges in the state, the opportunity to transfer to East Carolina University and become a Partnership Teach Fellow, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education, middle grades education, or special education.
“These kinds of partnerships are integral to our work that we do together to prepare educators,” COE Interim Dean Art Rouse said. “The College of Education’s motto is ‘Excellence Through Partnership’ and these partnerships exhibit that motto daily. Our College of Education believes in a clinically based model of educator preparation and we truly cannot accomplish that without the willingness of our public school partners to open their doors and welcome our students into real-life situations. Our college is also committed to access and we could not be accessible to prospective educators without the community college connections and collaborations with our Partnership Teach.”
Agreements with public schools and community colleges help to fulfill ECU’s dedication to eastern North Carolina.
The partnerships that ECU has with community colleges benefit the university and colleges beyond increased enrollment. Almost 900 students have graduated from the Partnership Teach degree completion model.
Partnership Teach is comprised of Louisburg College and the following 22 community colleges: Beaufort, Carteret, Central Carolina, Coastal Carolina, College of the Albemarle, Craven, Edgecombe, Fayetteville Technical, Halifax, James Sprunt, Johnston, Lenoir, Martin, Nash, Pamlico, Pitt, Roanoke-Chowan, Sampson, Vance-Granville, Wake Technical, Wayne and Wilson.
