LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Simmons College of Kentucky is bringing a teacher education program back to the University in Louisville.
The Historically Black College received final approval to add a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education program and an Associate of Arts in Early Childhood Education and Teacher Education.
The Simmons Teacher Education Program is designed to address the need for diversity in education and a teacher shortage, particularly within Jefferson County Public Schools.
"It's imperative that children see people who look like them, and so with this historic program with Simmons, and making sure that we graduate teachers who look like the students who make up a vast majority of the students in JCPS. It only says that our children now have an opportunity to soar," Dr. Gail Strange, Jefferson County Board of Education member, said.
Simmons, the only Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in Louisville, also dedicated its new Curriculum Resource Center at the Diane Porter Education Center on Thursday.
"Education is a part of me, and I am proud of this college," Porter said during the event. "We must stay together and ensure that every student receives a quality education."
Porter is a longtime educator in the community and the former chair of the JCBE. The center was dedicated to Porter's late daughter, Dani Porter, a "passionate advocate for education and youth," who passed away in 2015.
Officials said the school was forced to downsize and eliminate some program offerings because of the Great Depression causing a decline in student enrollment. One of those programs was teacher education.
"The first Black teachers in Kentucky were graduates of Simmons College of Kentucky," Simmons President Dr. Kevin Cosby said in a news release. "Now, what we lost during the Great Depression has returned; we are proud to now offer a new teacher education program."
To learn more about Simmons College of Kentucky or the new program, click here.
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