CSU teaching contract partnership with MCSD continues for a third year
COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) — A local university and the Muscogee County School District are working together to help graduating educators. Students exiting Columbus State University’s teacher educator program are the beneficiaries of the “CSU Teaching Contract Guarantee.”
The guarantee ensures students graduating from the educator program at CSU have a guaranteed contract with MCSD for the upcoming school year. It is a program that has been going on for the last three years, which MCSD Superintendent David Lewis said has so far been fruitful.
“We have hired many. Many teachers from Columbus State University … they do their internship here so it’s a very easy transition from CSU coming right into our schools,” Lewis said, explaining the partnership began after CSU had established a trend of producing high-quality educators.
The MCSD superintendent added the contract guarantee is also a way to combat teacher shortages. He hopes it may also become a recruitment tool for CSU to bring students into its teaching program.
Coffeeshop owners hope for community support after unexpected partial closure
This year, seven CSU students will be the beneficiaries of the contract guarantee, including Jay Maldonado, who specializes in teaching history.
Maldonado, who grew up attending multiple Columbus-area schools explained the contract guarantee did not stop her from going on a job hunt. She said she sent in her application wherever she could that had open teacher positions.
“I felt that I am good enough to where they would take me and that confidence is something that I built up at CSU and with the connections I have made at CSU,” Maldonado said.
She continued, “I view to the contract as more of a safety net just in case there were no open positions for a history teacher in a middle- or high school.”
Columbus Museum to reopen with silent disco and more
Maldonado is currently working as a student-teacher at Northside High School but has accepted a position at Double Churches Middle School for the fall, a position which she secured by her own merit. She will be teaching eighth-grade Georgia Studies.
For the young educator, it is a bit of a full circle moment, having previously attended both schools as a student in the past.
Moving forward, Lewis said he hopes the program with attract more students outside of the Columbus area to join CSU’s teaching program.
After CSU teachers earn a position at an MCSD school, CSU also offers a mentorship program, where young educators may access guidance from CSU staff for the first three years of their teaching career.
Associate Dean for Education in the College of Education and Health professions at CSU Jan Burcham said, “It’s not a thing where we just let them go, but we continue to work together with them and with Muscogee County.”
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WRBL.
