Amarillo ISD Joining WT and AC to Boost Number of Texas Panhandle Teachers

Posted Date: 09/12/2022

September 12, 2022 — An innovative plan to increase the number of teachers in the Texas Panhandle was announced by West Texas A&M University and Amarillo College officials. One2Teach will significantly reduce the time and costs for Amarillo ISD students who want to become teachers.

“We think this new collaborative effort addresses the significant challenges of recruiting teachers and of student debt,” said Dr. Beth Garcia, assistant dean of graduate programs and professional certifications in WT’s Terry B. Rogers College of Education and Social Sciences.

“High school students who know they have a passion for teaching but are concerned about the cost and time of pursuing that degree now have a pathway to their own classroom that will begin even before they earn their high school diploma.”

Students completing One2Teach will receive priority placement and guaranteed interviews at their home district and can save as much as 36 percent of the cost of their college degree. One2Teach also reduces the time it takes between high school graduation and teacher certification by as much as 25 percent. In the program, students will be guided through 30 semester credit hours of dual-credit coursework during their junior and senior years in high school.

They will then complete core course requirements and introductory education courses in one year at AC, followed by two full years of training and teacher preparation at WT.