Education

If teaching is your calling, here are three reasons that you should study education at Augustana:

Reputation. The merits of our education department are well known and widely respected locally and regionally. When school principals have open teaching positions, they often call Augustana.

Location. The Quad Cities provides many student-teaching placement options: rural, urban, suburban, public and private institutions, working with diverse student populations. All student teaching placements take place locally and are closely supervised by faculty members.

Study away. More than 90 percent of Augustana’s education majors complete their degree in four years, and often are able to study off campus. The education department offers a popular immersion opportunity in Jamaica.

Teacher licensure programs

Augustana offers programs that lead to Illinois licensure in the following areas:

• Elementary education (K-6) with the option to add a Reading Teacher endorsement.
• Middle grades education (5-8) for English, mathematics, science and social studies. Most students can complete both secondary and middle grades programs in their respective areas.
• Secondary education (9-12) in English language arts, mathematics, science (biology, chemistry, physics), and social science (history).
• K-12 art, foreign language (French, German, Spanish), and music education.

The Illinois State Board of Education participates in teacher licensure reciprocity agreements with most other states. (See Professional Educator License for more information.)

Distinctions

• Augustana offers multiple scholarship opportunities, but here’s one just for education majors. If you plan to teach a STEM subject — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — in a high-need school district after graduation, you may apply for Promoting Opportunities in STEM Teaching (POST) scholarships, ranging from $10,000-$30,000 a year.
• Faculty members represent a range of professional experiences: teaching in public and private schools in- and out-of-state, teaching abroad, moving from teaching to administration, field experience and advanced study.
• If you're majoring in elementary education, you can gain experience in advance of your student teaching through Augustana’s collaborative partnership with nearby Longfellow Liberal Arts elementary school. Prior to student teaching, you will complete at least three clinical experiences.
• Club Ed members take part in workshops, presentations and social events; visit schools during field trips to Chicago; volunteer at local schools; and participate in child-oriented service projects.

Recent graduates

Gareth Kent '23 teaches English at Reed Custer High School in Braidwood, Ill.

Abigail Johnson '23 teaches French at Pleasant Valley Junior High and High School in Bettendorf, Iowa.

Joyce Matanguihan '23 is a second grade teacher at Bowlesburg Elementary School in Silvis, Ill.

Justin Vollmuth '23 teaches math at Mesa Ridge High School in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Fernando Bravo Garcia '22 teaches math at United Township High School in East Moline, Ill.

Megan McLaughlin '22 teaches fifth grade in the Schaumburg (Ill.) School District 54.

Anna Triska '22 teaches sixth grade at Lords Park School in Elgin, Ill.