EOU welcomes Oregon Teacher Pathway students

College of Education hosts Oregon Teacher Pathway high school students

October 31, 2014

LA GRANDE, Ore. (EOU) – The College of Education at Eastern Oregon University will host 48 high school students from Umatilla and Milton-Freewater next week as part of the Oregon Teacher Pathway (OTP) program.

On Friday, Nov. 7, the participating students and their teachers will have the opportunity to attend university classes, tour the campus and learn about EOU’s admissions process.

“We are delighted to host students from the first high school partner programs,” said Tawnya Lubbes, a faculty mentor and facilitator for OTP and an assistant professor of education at EOU. “University mentors, faculty and undergraduate education students will also participate in the visit.”

OTP provides eastern Oregon its first collective effort in recruiting, educating and retaining teachers of color, as well as fostering culturally responsive practices in future teachers from all backgrounds.

The program was created in response to the need to increase the number of ethnic and linguistic minority teachers in eastern Oregon by creating a teacher pipeline starting with juniors in high school and assisting these students as they complete their degree and teacher licensure.

Based on research showing students of color who are exposed to teachers of color display higher levels of academic achievements, OTP works with ethnic high school students to increase the chance that they will enter the field of education. Students in the program earn pre-collegiate credit in teacher education, are required to do one-hour per week of field placement tutoring, and are mentored and trained by high school and university teachers.

OTP is funded through grants from the Oregon Department of Education and the Oregon Education Investment Board.

For more information visit eou.edu/otp or call 541-962-3529.