Secondary Education Students Begin Master of Arts in Teaching Program

Heidi Wells

This year, 36 students are enrolled in the Master of Arts in Teaching program.

The Master of Arts in Teaching secondary education program at the University of Arkansas welcomed its 20th cohort of students for licensure in English, speech and drama, foreign language, mathematics, science and social studies in July.  

The 36 graduate students enrolled in the College of Education and Health Professions will complete three semesters of coursework beginning in July and ending in May. They will be awarded a standard, five-year teaching license in their respective content areas upon graduation and completion of additional requirements of the Arkansas Department of Education.

The students experience two distinct internships in school settings: one in the fall and one in the spring. They also have the option of interning in an out-of-area placement in locations including Peru, Sweden or Belize, other states or in alternative school settings. Graduates of the MAT program are employed throughout the United States and internationally including China, Mexico and Spain.

The graduate program was developed by the College of Education and Health Professions to ensure that future teachers had strong content knowledge in their licensure area and an extensive and rigorous period of training in school settings with a master teacher before beginning their careers as educators. The first cohort of 17 graduated in 1997 with eight graduates in English, three each in math and social studies, two in science, and one in foreign language (French).

In order to be admitted, students meet several requirements: a bachelor's degree in their content area of licensure, admission to the Graduate School with a 3.0 GPA, submission of a portfolio, passing scores on Praxis Core and Praxis Content Area Test, and an interview with faculty from the MAT program. One of the most recent alumni, Katy Moore, was honored with a national "Joy of Teaching" award at the Literacies for All conference sponsored by the National Council of Teachers of English. Another alumna, Ellen Rainey, represented Arkansas as the Teacher of the Year at the Central States Conference on Teaching Foreign Languages.

The MAT program has the support of the Arkansas Department of Education and is accredited nationally by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education.

Students, their content area and hometown:

• Lauren Boatright, English, Little Rock

• Nicholas Bower, science, Eureka Springs

• Darrin Brock, mathematics, Lowell

• Candace Brown, English, Nashville, Arkansas

• Marisa Buller, Spanish, Bentonville

• Danielle Calhoun, English, Waxahachie, Texas

• Ella Caraway, science, Fayetteville

• Mary Kathryn Davis, science, Cabot

• Danielle Emrick, science, Ozark

• Melissa Ferguson, drama/speech, Doniphan, Missouri

• Rachel Ford, English, Conway

• Sarah Gentry, science, Fayetteville

• Cortney Halfaday, mathematics, Cypress, Texas

• Rachel Haynes, English, Birmingham, Alabama

• Joseph Heaston, English, Murfreesboro

• Samantha Hoffman, mathematics, Quartz Hill, California

• Diana Kendall-Huss, English, Missoula, Montana

• Harrison Kerr, science, Bentonville

• Zachary Kuntz, science, Rockwell, Texas

• Andrew McBride, social studies, Dixon, Illinois

• Samantha Morgan, English, Quitman, Arkansas

• Steven Nelson, science, Fayetteville

• Emily Nichols, science, Fort Worth, Texas

• Austin Ormand, social studies, Coppell, Texas

• Jessica Ramirez, social studies, Springdale

• Christopher Robles, social studies, La Puente, California

• Amy Rogers, social studies, St. Charles, Missouri

• Alvaro Salaverry, Spanish, Los Angeles, California

• Allysa Swearingen, science, Prairie Grove

• Cristhina Torres, Spanish, Fort Smith

• Nathan Watson, social studies, Pleasant Hill, Missouri

• Tyrel Weston, social studies, Fayetteville

• Kim Wood, Spanish, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

• Will Yaeger, social studies, Allen, Texas

• Trenton Yeakley, social studies, Springdale

• Michael Zarro, social studies, Frisco, Texas