Teacher-preparation programs are now offered at community colleges in 22 states, according to a preliminary 50-state survey to be released in June by the Denver-based Education Commission of the States. Here is a sampling of some of the approaches:
- Maryland began offering the nation’s first Associate of Arts in Teaching degree in 2001.
- Rio Salado College in Tempe, Ariz., began offering online teacher certification in 2001 for students who have already earned bachelor’s degrees.
- Great Basin College, a two-year institution in Elko, Nev., started a bachelor’s program in education in 1999.
- Collin County Community College in Plano, Texas, launched an alternative-certification program in 2000 for people who already have bachelor’s degrees and want to teach courses in industrial technology.
