MSU offers students new path to teaching 

Ever since its founding in 1887, Morehead State University has prioritized providing the region's classrooms with highly trained educators. Now, Eagle students have an alternate route to teacher certification.  

MSU is partnering with school districts to provide aspiring educators with a quicker and more affordable way to become classroom-ready through its state-approved Option 9 program.  

Option 9 provides a new pathway to a four-year degree and teacher certification in as few as three years. This state initiative assists potential students who are paraprofessionals in a school district to get their degree working full-time.  

Dr. April Miller, dean of the Ernst and Sara Lane Volgenau College of Education, said Option 9 is for potential teachers who are adult learners and who cannot take time out to go through the traditional college experience. In addition to the program being condensed and including online courses, Option 9's third year of the program is an internship in teaching rather than a typical 16-week student-teaching experience.   

Miller said there has been increased interest in Option 9 programs due to the benefits for teacher education students and Kentucky school districts.  

"Perhaps they have a family to care for or cannot attend school without also working full-time. This program is also for someone who is interested in staying in the school district in which they are already working as a paraprofessional," Miller said. "The school benefits from the likelihood that the paraprofessional they have hired will remain in place and will gain the knowledge, skills and dispositions to be a teacher who then may ultimately be hired as a teacher for their district."  

MSU's Option 9 program can have an immediate and future impact on Kentucky's education system.  

"Short-term benefits of the Option 9 program are that there is the potential to finish a college degree faster than the traditional timeline for a four-year degree, the ability to complete the program while working full-time, and the ability to become known in a specific school district with the potential to continue to teach in that district once they are certified," Miller said. "Long-term benefits of the Option 9 are that school districts can 'Grow Their Own' teachers within their communities. This allows for teacher recruitment and retention in some of the more rural areas where the teacher shortage is most critical."  

If you are a prospective student or school district interested in learning more about MSU's Option 9 program, contact Dr. Timothy Simpson, chair of MSU's Department of Teacher Education, at tl.simpson@moreheadstate.edu.  

For more information on the Volgenau College of Education, email ad.miller@moreheadstate.edu or call 606-783-2845.