EOU earns high marks for inclusive education programs

EOU earns high marks for inclusive education programs

Dec. 7, 2020 LA GRANDE, Ore. – Diversity and cultural inclusion are woven throughout all of the education programs offered at Eastern Oregon University, a practice that recently earned the university national recognition.   

The College of Education at EOU includes some of the school’s most distinguished programs. This year, the college’s Early Childhood Education program received an ‘A’ in diversity from the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ).  

The  Early Childhood Education program has also been named Best Online Early Childhood Education Degree Programs  (31st) and Top 30 Affordable Early Childhood Education Degree Online Programs (Bachelor’s). 

“We just got ranked fourth in the nation for early childhood program affordability, and we tied with two and three. Out of all the early childhood undergraduate programs in the nation, EOU is number four,” Dean of the College of Education Matt Seimears said. 

Seimears is excited about potential new developments in the College of Education, including efforts to respond to Special Education teacher shortages and the new concentration in trauma-invested teaching offered through the Master of Science in Education program. 

Seimears said the university is working to develop anti-racism classes and curriculum for PK-12 education partners and also address systemic racism students face in higher education. A panel of EOU students will serve as an advisory panel on the project.  

“Teaching to diversity is one thing, but making a diverse model is challenging in a complicated way. You need the right equipment, the right faculty, the right mindsets and we’re doing that,” Seimears said. 

Faculty in the College of Education continue to explore innovative ways to retain education students and offer programs that empower students to help shape their education.  

Based on all of the recognition and national rankings the College of Education has received, Seimears believes that EOU will continue to provide students with high quality programs and be even more of an asset to the rural communities it serves.   

“This is Harvard in the Pacific Northwest,” Seimears said. “We just have to help the students help us tell the story.”

By PR Intern Emily Andrews