5 September 2023
TOPEKA (KSNT) – Washburn University’s President JuliAnn Mazachek joined the 27 News Morning show to reflect on the first few weeks back at school.
Mazachek said that so far this year, things have been great. She said the university have a wonderful group of students coming in for their first semesters, as well as they have a great deal of students returning back for another year.
“I tell people all the time that this is the first year, and it didn’t really hit me until I was talking to a faculty member, but this is the first time in 4 years that we’ve had a normal fall,” Mazachek said.
She said you can just tell staff, faculty and students are happy to be back on campus, without having to think about pandemic-time anxieties like wearing masks or staying six feet apart.
In addition to getting back into the swing of the semester, Mazachek said they are excited to support a new program geared towards helping the teacher shortage in Kansas.
“We are working with local school districts to do ‘Para-professional to Teacher’ programs,” she said. “And through our education department, we’ll have almost 30 students who were accepted into the program this year.”
Those students are able then to take classes while still working, so that they do not have to choose between earning a living and furthering their education.
“These are people who are already working in the education system, and they are ready to go on and get their additional training so that they can become a teacher,” she said.
Mazachek said that this is a unique program because the people involved in it are already familiar with the educational system, giving them a leg up as they learn more.
“They know what it takes to be a teacher,” Mazachek said. “They know the hard work and the importance of that work, and that they’ll stay within the profession.”
Mazachek said she is excited to see what comes of the program in the future. To hear more about the program, you can click here to go to Washburn’s website.