|
|
EPI student Patricia Stafford |
Former therapist follows her dream to the classroom
Read Complete Story
Patricia Crotty Stafford, 52, is celebrating her second year in a second career. She’s a teacher at the Florida Sheriff’s Boys Ranch in Live Oak. How she got into the classroom is a success story for NFCC’s Educator Preparation Institute (EPI) and her own determination to make a difference.
According to Stafford, “I wanted to teach after years of working in mental health and juvenile justice related jobs.” Stafford holds a bachelor’s degree in behavioral science and a master’s in rehabilitation services. “But,” she said, “I did not want to take several years to get back to the classroom. EPI was exactly what I needed as a second career student.”
The Florida legislature created the EPI program in 2004 to meet the need for more K-12 classroom teachers. NFCC was one of the first community colleges to establish an institute. EPI provides professional development for current teachers, substitute teachers and paraprofessional instruction. Stafford and others have taken EPI’s alternative route that permits mid-career professionals who are non-education college graduates to take education courses and then become certified to teach. Dr. Phillip Mantzanas directs the EPI program at NFCC.
According to Stafford, “I wanted to teach after years of working in mental health and juvenile justice related jobs.” Stafford holds a bachelor’s degree in behavioral science and a master’s in rehabilitation services. “But,” she said, “I did not want to take several years to get back to the classroom. EPI was exactly what I needed as a second career student.”
|
![]() |
NFCC puts education first: The Silas Dye Story
Silas Dye had always dreamed of becoming a teacher. He’d gained a temporary certificate to teach PE in the Hamilton County Middle School, but needed certification to be a full-fledged classroom teacher. Thanks to the Educator Preparation Institute (EPI) at North Florida Community College, Dye’s dream has become a reality. Early this year, Dye was the first in Florida to receive his Professional Certificate on the basis of completing an EPI program, a much heralded fact by the Florida Dept. of Education in recent articles and press releases.
|
DOE approves NFCC’s Educator Preparation Institute for teachers
Read Complete Story
North Florida Community College was among eight community colleges approved to provide teacher training for paraprofessionals and others through Education Preparation Institutes the Florida Dept. of Education announced Aug. 8, 2005. Other community colleges are: Brevard, Indian River, Lake City, Manatee, Pasco-Hernando, Pensacola and Polk.
FDOE Commissioner John Winn wrote President Morris G. Steen, “We are encouraged by the interest our institutions have shown in providing teacher training and eager to get the Educator Preparation Institutes (EPI) running. I am pleased to inform you that your model for providing teacher training through an Educator Preparation Institute has received state approval."
|
|
