Arlington School & Family Magazine May/June 2016 | Page 8

Teacher Academy
The Arlington ISD and The University
of Texas at Arlington announced the
creation of an innovative Teacher
Academy for aspiring young educators
with the signing of a memorandum of
understanding by AISD Superintendent
Dr. Marcelo Cavazos and UTA President
Dr. Vistasp Karbhari at Seguin High
School.
The Teacher Academy will provide high
school students the opportunity to earn
both university semester credit hours
and high school course credit, giving
students primed for a teaching career an
advantage as they become college and workforce
ready, objectives of the newly adopted AISD
Achieve Today. Excel Tomorrow. strategic plan.
The program will have 12 UTA College of Education
courses in addition to other available dual-credit
courses and three study pathways, including early
childhood through sixth grade bilingual, early
childhood through sixth grade English as a second
language and early childhood through sixth grade
special education. Students will be able to complete
additional dual-credit courses through Tarrant

County College. Selection of the academy students
will begin next school year. Classes will take place
at either the students’ home high school, UTA or the
district’s new Career and Technical Center that is
scheduled to open in the fall of 2017.
“The AISD-UTA Teacher Academy will provide
our students yet another relevant, rigorous learning
experience as they prepare to become teachers
themselves,” Cavazos said. “Teachers are at the
core of the educational experience. It is our hope
that these home-grown teachers will inspire AISD
students in the near future as they become Arlington
ISD teachers themselves.”
The Teacher Academy will be for
high school juniors and seniors.
Students will sign their degree
plan with UTA as high school
juniors and will be able to complete
their degree within three years of
graduating from high school. Upon
completion of the full program and
a teaching certification, students will
be preferred candidates for teaching
positions within the AISD.

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Arlington School & Family