The South Dakota Board of Regents approved requests by South Dakota State University on May 9 to add two new academic programs in elementary education and special education, a move that will help address a workforce shortage in the state and beyond.
Starting with the fall 2023 semester, both majors will be offered on the Brookings campus. The program in elementary education prepares graduates to teach students in elementary grades, including kindergarten through eighth grade. The program in special education prepares students to work with students who have a wide range of learning, mental, emotional and physical disabilities.
“The interest we have received from students all over the region clearly underscores the importance of these programs and the need to train the next generation of educators in South Dakota and beyond,” said Anne Karabon, the Wendell and Marlys Thompson Director of the School of Education, Counseling and Human Development at SDSU.
The immediate need for additional teachers, including elementary and special education teachers, is evident nationally, regionally and locally. In July 2022, the Associated School Boards of South Dakota reported 309 teacher openings just weeks before the start of the 2022-23 school year, including 64 elementary education and 60 special education vacancies.
SDSU currently offers education programs including Early Childhood Education (B.S.) – birth to age 8 specialization, Early Childhood Education (B.S.) – Cooperative Elementary Education Program with Dakota State University, and various secondary education majors and specializations.
The current structure means SDSU students who wish to pursue a career and degree in elementary education must complete an additional 24 credit hours through a fifth year in college and field placement not managed by SDSU. SDSU students who are seeking an early childhood education degree may elect to add a special education endorsement (birth to age 5), but that does not entitle them to become certified for work in K-12 settings.
“We are at a critical point in South Dakota where the demand for teachers is significantly high, and we must educate and prepare future educators to enter the field,” Karabon said. “These programs create a much clearer pathway for students to earn degrees in elementary and special education from SDSU.”
