Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College (FDLTCC) will become the first two-year educational institute in Minnesota to get approval to give bachelor's degrees in elementary education, Duluth News Tribune reported.
The elementary education degree is the school’s first and only four-year degree. FDLTCC announced the new major back in September, and classes will start under the program in January.
The degree program – open to all – specifically aims to produce more educators who are American Indian — or familiar with American Indian culture and practices — in Minnesota, where white teachers drastically outnumber non-white ones.
“It’s really focused on increasing American Indian teachers,” said Dr. Kim Spoor, dean of education at FDLTCC, “but … it’s also important for us to pull in those non-Indigenous students to become teacher educators because it’s important for them to know about cultures that are different than their own so that they have that really good understanding and foundation when they go into their classroom.”
