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<strong>April</strong> <strong>2016</strong><br />
THE VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL<br />
www.TheValleyBusinessJournal.com<br />
15<br />
Azusa Pacific University Murrieta Answers<br />
Call to Teachers Shortage<br />
EDUCATION<br />
by<br />
by<br />
Vickie Becker<br />
Steve Fillingim<br />
Shame on me and anyone else who<br />
has gotten used to the idea that one’s<br />
career goals and dreams won’t be fulfilled.<br />
With our Southwest Riverside<br />
County beginning to see a glimmer of<br />
prosperity returning, it’s time to think<br />
about the type of career one may want<br />
and to not just settle for “good enough.”<br />
One meaningful career opportunity<br />
that has a growing shortage in California<br />
is teaching. Recent data show<br />
that between 2013 and 2015 there has<br />
been a 46 percent increase in Riverside<br />
County teaching position job postings.<br />
This means that qualified educators are<br />
in high demand.<br />
The Azusa Pacific University<br />
(APU) Murrieta Campus is very aware<br />
that skilled teachers are needed to<br />
fill the widening gap in California’s<br />
school systems. Our research shows<br />
that teachers with expertise in the areas<br />
of English or special education are<br />
especially sought-after, while school<br />
counselors and school psychologists<br />
play an increasingly vital role helping<br />
children succeed academically, socially,<br />
behaviorally, and emotionally.<br />
Call it a teacher shortage, teacher<br />
gap or teacher drought … APU Murrieta<br />
is committed to preparing students<br />
to step into the important and growing<br />
field of teaching. APU Murrieta currently<br />
offers evening courses in Liberal<br />
Studies for the working adult and<br />
has recently launched a new daytime<br />
program especially designed for those<br />
living and or working in Southwest<br />
Riverside County.<br />
The new APU daytime Liberal<br />
Studies degree program is designed<br />
for transfer students who have 45 –<br />
60 units. Students in the APU Liberal<br />
Studies program will select a specialized<br />
concentration in English, psychology,<br />
or special education. Each of<br />
these concentrations provides depth of<br />
academic discipline that prepares the<br />
One meaningful career opportunity<br />
that has a growing<br />
shortage in California is teaching.<br />
student to be a successful education<br />
professional.<br />
The APU Liberal Studies daytime<br />
program coursework integrates the<br />
latest teaching standards, including<br />
Common Core, and 100-125 hours of<br />
enriching service-learning experience<br />
in elementary school classrooms.<br />
Graduates leave the program having<br />
obtained in-classroom skills through<br />
supervised instruction in a school<br />
setting. Plus, students have the added<br />
benefit of having engaged with credentialed<br />
school faculty.<br />
I welcome your contacting me to<br />
talk about the new APU Murrieta Liberal<br />
Studies daytime degree program.<br />
Please email me at murrieta@apu.edu.<br />
Vickie Becker, EdD, is the Director for<br />
the Azusa Pacific University Murrieta<br />
Campus. For more information visit<br />
us at www.apu.edu/murrieta/.<br />
connect: www.apu.edu/murrieta/murrieta<br />
An investment in<br />
knowledge pays the best interest.<br />
~Benjamin Franklin<br />
February Teachers are Heroes Award Presented to Patty Fullington<br />
at Rancho Vista High School<br />
Teachers are Heroes is a popular<br />
recognition program that highlights<br />
one school teacher each month who has<br />
gone above and beyond his or her job<br />
description. KATY – 101.3 The Mix<br />
(KATY) and Azusa Pacific University<br />
(APU) presented the February Teachers<br />
are Heroes award to Mrs. Patty Fullington,<br />
a math teacher at Rancho Vista<br />
High School in Temecula, on Tuesday,<br />
February 23, <strong>2016</strong>. Rancho Vista High<br />
School Principal, Mr. Greg Cooke<br />
and Sparkman Alternative Education<br />
(SAE) Center PTSA President, Mrs.<br />
Barbara Burkett, joined Fullington and<br />
her students at the Teachers are Heroes<br />
presentation and also enjoyed a pizza<br />
party celebration provided by The Pizza<br />
Factory in Temecula.<br />
Mrs. Fullington is a beloved teacher<br />
truly worthy of this recognition. Fullington<br />
was nominated by the Sparkman Alternative<br />
Education (SAE) Center PTSA<br />
who said, “Mrs. Fullington will work<br />
with students before/after school and<br />
during lunch to help them be successful.<br />
This is her 40th year of teaching, and<br />
she is still passionate about making sure<br />
her students conquer math!”<br />
Fullington began teaching at Hannibal<br />
High School in Missouri for<br />
26 years (apparently home to Mark<br />
Twain)! When she moved out to Temecula<br />
she taught at Linfield Christian<br />
School in Temecula and then retired.<br />
However, she missed teaching and began<br />
looking for the right fit for her and<br />
found it at Rancho Vista High School.<br />
On February 28, <strong>2016</strong>, she celebrated<br />
her 11th year at Rancho Vista High<br />
School.<br />
The Teachers are Heroes program<br />
will run through <strong>April</strong> <strong>2016</strong>. All selected<br />
teachers and their classes will attend<br />
a private celebration at the end of the<br />
year at the Lake Elsinore Storm Stadium.<br />
Teachers can be nominated by<br />
students, parents, and even other school<br />
administrators. For more information<br />
go to www.1013themix.com, keyword:<br />
Teachers or go to http://www.apu.edu/<br />
murrieta/teachers/<br />
Left to right: Barbara Burkett, Patty Fullington, Greg Cooke
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