UNLV offering 2 programs to tackle teacher shortages across Nevada

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – UNLV understands the pathway to teaching is not the same for everyone. That’s why the university is trying to make it easier early on by offering different options to those interested in teaching.

Getting a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education is something Sandra Winters told 8 News Now she has always wanted to do. However, like many people, time often slips away. Winters said she decided to go to college in 2006 but her husband’s health problems put everything on hold.

“My husband got a heart attack so that put a stop to that,” she recalled.

Now in 2024, Winters is halfway to getting her bachelor’s degree. She said her co-workers told her about UNLV’s Nevada Forward Initiative Teacher Apprenticeship. It is a program designed to tackle the critical teacher shortage across the state in the education workforce.

The program allows those interested a chance to attain a degree in education in one year. It is what many in the program describe as a perfect pathway for people who are working and want to get experience in classrooms immediately.

“It’s not the traditional four-year degree for people, Kelsey Claus with UNLV’s Nevada Forward Initiative Teacher Apprenticeship told 8 News Now.

Since 2020, Claus said the program has added at least 355 licensed personnel to the field. As many as 230 students have recently graduated from the program.

“Our newest program that we are adding is our Youth Rebel Star Academy,” Claus told 8 News 8.

The academy is a pilot program for rising junior high school students in the area.

“This is a chance for students to start exploring the teaching profession,” Claus said.

The academy also gives students a hands-on learning experience with children, and paid apprenticeships.

“They can earn up to two years of credits that transfer over into a university system all for free,” Claus added.

Winters told 8 News Now she will graduate with the program’s fifth cohort.

As for the Youth Rebel Star Academy, Claus said the program is still a work in progress.

Tuition is covered depending on money for students in Nevada Forward who want to get their bachelor’s or master’s degrees. Those interested must apply and be accepted to UNLV to qualify.

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