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Kentucky State University has created the Aspiring Teacher Summer Education Program to further increase student interest in a career as an educator, as well as increase student interest in the Kentucky State University education degree program. 

This pilot program provides high school low-income and first-generation students in Louisville an opportunity to take college-level education courses to jumpstart their career pathway to become teachers. Additionally, all Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) employees are eligible to participate in this program and take these courses free of charge.

Starting in the summer of 2022, the Aspiring Teacher Summer Education Program allows qualifying students and JCPS employees to take up to two online courses free of charge. The two available courses are EDU 202, Foundations of Teaching and Education, and EDU 203, Introduction to Technology in Education. Student applicants must be a resident of West Louisville, have recently graduated from a high school in JCPS, and be interested in a potential career in education.

These courses can be applied to the pursuit of an education degree at Kentucky State or other education degree programs, with the hope that this program will increase the pool of diverse, highly skilled teachers in Kentucky. 

Dr. Timothy Forde, professor and chair of the School of Education, Human Development, and Consumer Sciences, emphasized the goal to increase the diversity of teachers in West Louisville.

“There are only a few things more rewarding than making a difference in shaping the lives of children, inspiring and being a mentor to them,” he said.

To find out more information about the program, please email Dr. Timothy Forde or call (502) 597-6044.