CBS Interviews ETAMU’s Dr. Kathryn Dixon on Urgent Need for Certified Teachers in Texas

Dr. Kathryn Dixon, associate professor and assistant dean of the College of Education and Human Services at East Texas A&M University, was recently interviewed by CBS News about the importance of acquiring teacher certification in the state of Texas.

The news segment touched on how Texas schools are struggling to hire certified teachers, noting how, according to the Texas Education Agency, an estimated 30,000 first time teachers have been hired in Texas over the last year, with over half of those individuals not being certified.

Dixon pointed out that there are several different certifications a teacher can obtain in the state of Texas, including:

• Early childhood through 3^rd grade
• Early childhood through 6^th grade
• 4^th through 8^th grade
• 7^th through 12^th grade
• Special education
• Bilingual education

According to Dixon, many schools are hiring uncertified teachers out of necessity, because there simply aren't enough certified teachers out there relative to the amount of openings at Texas schools.

East Texas A&M offers several paths to becoming a teacher. In addition to the undergraduate education programs, which focus on the various grade levels and subjects in education, ETAMU also has a post-baccalaureate teacher certification program and a competency-based teacher certification program.

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