ESU4 and Peru State College partner to address Southeast Nebraska's shortage of teachers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 27, 2019, 10:00 a.m. CDT

Contact Jason Hogue, Peru State College Marketing and Communications, 402-872-2429

 

Peru, Nebraska – Peru State College and Educational Service Unit 4 (ESU4) are partnering together to train more substitute teachers through the Southeast Nebraska Teaching Academy (SENTA). SENTA has already produced twenty-two substitute teachers to ease the strain on area schools, with a new academy about to start.

 

Dr. Ellie Kunkel, dean of the school of education at Peru State, writes, “The importance of SENTA is to provide substitute teachers for schools who are seeing, increasingly, a shortage. Through SENTA, individuals will be able to teach in every school in ESU #4, thus expanding the pool of individuals who are eligible to substitute teach.”

 

Dr. Robert Ingram, assistant professor of Education at Peru State, adds that the program benefits Peru State students immediately, “After students complete the class, they can substitute and earn money on the days they are not attending courses at Peru State.”

 

Madison Panko, a student that has completed SENTA, writes “ The SENTA class is a great way to prepare teacher candidates for when they become teachers in their own classroom. This class teaches you classroom management skills as well as best practices as a teacher.”

 

Ingram adds, “We ask our former students to return to the class the semester after they have completed the SENTA Course. They share their experiences and suggestions with current students and calm the fears of teacher candidates scheduling their first substitute teaching job.”

 

“One of our former students, Sara, recently visited with SENTA students in class and assured them saying, ‘You can do it! Rely on the best practices you have learned; stop and think as you encounter an uncertain situation; and be sure to reach out to a neighbor teacher for help.'”

 

More information about SENTA and earning a local substitute teaching certificate can be found at www.peru.edu/senta. SENTA assists potential substitute teachers complete the credentials necessary to earn a Nebraska Department of Education substitute certificate.

 

The ESU 4 mission is “impacting student learning through communication, accountability, and leadership.” ESU4 proudly serves Johnson, Nemaha, Otoe, Pawnee and Richardson Counties.

 

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Alexa Cline contributed to this release.

 

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