College ready to offer master’s in education

Joseph+Hall%2C+a+popular+location+for+educating+young+minds+at+Saint+Anselm

Courtesy/Grace Bolinsky

Joseph Hall, a popular location for educating young minds at Saint Anselm

Grace Bolinksy, Crier Staff

Calling any and all education majors! Saint Anselm is currently in the process of creating and implementing a new masters program in Special Education. The original proposal for the program was sent in last January, and the final approval should be granted by the end of November, which will allow the program to be open for applications in December of 2021. This new program will bring more education majors to the college along with bringing more help financially to the school. This will be the second masters program to be available at the school, following the criminal justice ‘MA’ (Master of Arts) program.

With the wide variety of education majors and minors offered, it is no surprise that it is one of the most popular chosen majors at the college, which follows nursing, business, and criminology (collegefactual.com). The education program at Saint Anselm is extremely popular, and with a lack of special education educators in the world, this program is incredibly important and beneficial. Dr. Mark Cronin states that “there are not enough practitioners in the field who have a degree in special education and in the last couple years, the need for those educators has increased. We are preparing students for a workforce that is greatly needed.”

This program, while filling the void of special educators in the country, will be morally and financially fulfilling for the school. Most of the country is continuously at a shortage for special educators, while School of Education Online Programs states that “The Office of Special Education Programs currently lists the national shortage at 8 percent,” (https://soeonline.american.edu/blog/special-education-teacher-shortage). 

Across the country, the lack of special education teachers is highly prevalent in high poverty and urban areas. This program is in great demand and in high importance especially with the school being just down the street from Manchester, New Hampshire.

Dr. Laura M. Wasielewski, head professor of the education department, was a key player in getting the program through the approval process. Dr. Mark Cronin said, “the person who put this together was Professor Wasielewski. She will serve as director of the program, this is her area.” The program will emulate a 4+1 model, which Dr. Wasielewski explains as “students who are currently enrolled or have already completed one of the College’s elementary or secondary undergraduate teacher education/licensure programs (graduated in the last five years).”

Saint Anselm’s Special Education graduate program is now pending New Hampshire State Board of Education and the NECHE (New England Commission of Higher Education) approval. The school should be getting final approval in November which will allow for the program to be available in 2022. The program will be an accelerated graduate program in Special Education M. Ed with Special Education licensure. As long as a student has graduated from Saint Anselm within the past five years, they are eligible to apply for the program, and the first cohort of students that engage in the program, will start in May of 2022 and end in May of 2023.

This new program will appear as a new highlight to the school, potentially drawing in more students who might have not been looking at the school in the first place. Dr. Mark Cronin said, “Students looking at the school realizing they might be able to get their masters after they graduate might attract them to the school that they were not attracted to in the first place.” The programs at Saint Anselm are already successful, so the addition of a masters program will be the icing on the cake of the school’s rich variation of educational offerings.