Mount Marty University-Watertown partners with Northeast Technical High School and Watertown High School to launch dual-credit program for aspiring educators

Mount Marty University-Watertown (MMU) is proud to announce the Students to Teachers through Educator Pathways (STEP) initiative. This program allows students at the Northeast Technical High School (NTHS) to take specific dual-credit courses in education through Mount Marty and start their education degrees earlier at MMU, allowing students to potentially finish their bachelor's degree in elementary education in three years. 

Heidi Schooley, campus director of the MMU-Watertown campus, emphasized the significance of this dual-credit pathway. "The STEP initiative is a unique pathways program blending two education movements — Career Academics and Guided Pathways — to support high school students interested in becoming teachers. This pathway, by utilizing dual-credit opportunities with high school partners, is an affordable approach to degree completion." This dual-credit educator pathway is designed to help recruit future and aspiring teachers from their communities into MMU-Watertown and back to those very same communities.

NTHS serves students from several area high schools, including Watertown High School, Castlewood High School, Waverly-South Shore High School, Florence High School, Great Plains Lutheran High School, Henry High School and Summit High School. Each of these schools offers its students the opportunity to take these dual-credit classes. Bert Falak, director of NTHS, said, "NTHS is thrilled to launch a new dual-credit opportunity with Mount Marty University — Students to Teachers through Educator Pathways — a program designed to help students jump-start their journey toward a career in education! This exciting program offers NTHS students the chance to explore careers and concepts in education through three new courses, combining classroom learning with real-world, hands-on experience in local classrooms. A great first step toward becoming tomorrow's educators!"

"We are looking forward to the new venture with Mount Marty-Watertown to provide dual credits for our high school students," said Jeff Danielsen, Ed.D., superintendent of the Watertown School District. "Partnering with Mount Marty in order to facilitate more potential educators is a very exciting prospect. I am hopeful that this relationship will benefit all parties and help grow the list of future teachers in our state."

This fall will be the first semester that NTHS students can register for dual-credit classes within the STEP initiative. For more information on Mount Marty's dual-credit and degree opportunities, please visit mountmarty.edu. If you are a school district interested in this pathway, please contact Nicholas Shudak, Ph.D., MMU dean of undergraduate studies, at nicholas.shudak@mountmarty.edu.

###

About Mount Marty University

Founded in 1936 by the Sisters of Sacred Heart Monastery, Mount Marty University is South Dakota's only Catholic, Benedictine institution of higher education. Located along the bluffs of the Missouri River in Yankton, with additional locations in Watertown and Sioux Falls, Mount Marty offers undergraduate and graduate degrees focusing on student and alumni success in high-demand fields such as health sciences, education, criminal justice, business, accounting, recreation management, and more. A community of learners in the Benedictine tradition, Mount Marty emphasizes academic excellence and develops well-rounded students with intellectual competence, professional and personal skills and moral, spiritual and social values. To learn more, visit mountmarty.edu.