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Mass. University to Offer Teaching Degrees in Macon

Posted on: Wednesday, 5 October 2005, 00:00 CDT

By Julie Hubbard, The Macon Telegraph, Ga.

Oct. 4--Some Middle Georgia teachers will soon get the chance to learn how to weave art, storytelling, poetry and music into the classroom as a way to keep students engaged.

Lesley University in Cambridge, Mass., is offering a degree program in Macon, allowing K-12 teachers the chance to receive an Integrated Teaching Through the Arts masters degree or education specialist degree.

"It's for teachers wanting to find new ways to teach," said Christina Erridge, Lesley University's regional director of admissions. "The program is very popular."

Erridge said the degree program shows teachers how to incorporate different types of art, such as drama, movement, studio arts painting, music and artistic technology to get students more involved in their school work.

For middle and high school teachers who often don't incorporate art into their classrooms, the program offers new teaching strategies, Erridge said.

The program is set to start in Macon early next year and is open for teachers in every subject field and every grade level, she said.

The tuition for a master's degree is $370 for each credit hour, which is $12,210 for the entire degree program. The education specialist degree costs $415 for each credit, or $14,940, university officials said.

Between 18 and 25 teachers will be accepted for the first 22-month program, and so far about two dozen teachers have expressed interest, said Lynn Cass, executive director of Macon Arts, a nonprofit organization that supports arts groups in the midstate.

Professors from Massachusetts and across the country will fly to Macon to teach the classes, which will be held once a month on a Friday night, Saturday and Sunday at Vineville Academy, university officials said.

"We know children learn better through the arts," Cass said.

Bibb County teachers already offer programs that integrate art into the classroom at Central High, Miller Middle and Vineville Academy, and the degree program could help expand teaching through the arts to other schools, Cass said.

University officials approached Macon Arts, which presented the idea to the Bibb County school system in August, Cass said.

No other university in Middle Georgia offers integrated arts degrees, she said.

Currently there is a cross-teaching trend -- such as teaching art while teaching math, said Bibb County school board member Lynn Farmer.

But Farmer said the school system is not paying teacher tuition costs and has not voted for any formal partnerships with Lesley University.

Lesley University is renting Vineville Academy from the school system, Farmer said.

The program also is offered in Gwinnett and Clayton counties and in Augusta, and a similar program is starting in Cobb County in the next few weeks, Erridge said.

Lesley University is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and has offered education programs for about 100 years, university officials said.

Its graduate programs are offered at 150 sites in 21 states. It started its first degree program in Georgia in 2002.

Before the Lesley University program was offered in Macon, interested teachers had to drive to Atlanta or Augusta to earn a master's or specialist degree from Lesley University in arts integration, Erridge said.

"It's really interesting and innovative and does speak to (Middle Georgia) where teachers have a great interest," she said.

IF YOU GO

Lesley University will host information sessions on its Integrated Arts degree programs at 5 p.m. Thursday, and at 5 p.m. Oct. 13, Oct. 24, and Oct. 27 at Vineville Academy, 2260 Vineville Ave., Macon.

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Copyright (c) 2005, The Macon Telegraph, Ga.

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Source: The Macon Telegraph (Macon, Ga.)

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