NSU develops partnerships with A+PEL, DeSoto Parish to help teachers on the path to master’s degrees

April 8, 2025

NATCHITOCHES – Northwestern State University’s School of Education signed two agreements April 8 that will facilitate credit articulation for teachers seeking master’s degrees.

One agreement signed between NSU and the Associated Professional Educators of Louisiana (A+PEL) addresses the articulation of the Ready to Teach Louisiana (RTL) curriculum developed by A+PEL that leads to alternative teacher certification and Louisiana Level 1 teacher licensure.  Per the partnership with NSU, students who complete the Ready to Teach curriculum and earn a Louisiana Level 1 teacher certificate can receive 15 hours of credit from NSU towards a Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction with a Transition to Teaching concentration.

Another agreement between NSU and the DeSoto Parish School Board creates a path of credit flow for teachers who complete Mentor Teacher Training, Master Teacher Training and/or Operation LEAD Training. With those completions and a bachelor’s degree, DeSoto Parish educators can receive up to 12 hours of credit towards a Master of Education in Educational Leadership at NSU.

“This is what makes teachers stronger, districts stronger and students succeed,” said Dr. April Giddens, interim director of NSU’s School of Education.

Dr. Dylan Solice, coordinator of NSU’s Educational Leadership program, was instrumental in developing the partnerships, which will help meet the need for high quality educators. He credited administration — Giddens, Dr. Katrina Jordan, immediate past director of the School of Education; Dr. Neeru Deep, dean of the College of Education and Human Development; NSU Executive Vice President and Provost Dr. Greg Handel; NSU President James Genovese and colleagues with A+PEL and DeSoto Parish Schools — for supporting the initiative.

“RTL is an alternative certification program approved by BESE [Louisiana’s Board of Elementary and Secondary Education],” Solice said. “Northwestern State has its own alternative certification program, and we already articulate credit for NSU’s program to a concentration in our master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction. We are now partnering with A+PEL to articulate credit from their alternative certification program to our master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction.”

“DeSoto has a wonderful multilayered leadership pipeline from where they develop mentor teachers, master teachers and educational leaders,” Solice continued.  “We are working with their program to articulate different levels of credit towards our M.Ed. in educational leadership.”

“Northwestern has truly been at the forefront of educating the masses for such a long time, especially in the field of education, so this is a tremendous opportunity for us,” said Dr. Torrence Williams, RTL executive director, South Louisiana.  “We’re looking forward to putting out folks who are both qualified and certified in the field.”

Clay Corley, DeSoto Parish Superintendent of Schools, said partnerships are the result of professional relationships and working together.

“This opens a lot of doors for our Mentor Teachers, our Master Teachers and our Operational LEAD participants to gain college credit. It’s a very rigorous process,” Corley said.  “We are excited about bringing more of our leaders through this institution.”

Information on NSU’s School of Education, degree programs and steps to alternate certification is available at https://www.nsula.edu/education/.

Northwestern State University’s School of Education and the Associated Professional Educators of Louisiana formalized an agreement in which Ready to Teach Louisiana completers can apply credits towards a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction at NSU. Seated from left are NSU Executive Vice President and Provost Dr. Greg Handel; NSU President James Genovese, Dr. Torrence Williams, Ready to Teach Louisiana executive director for south Louisiana; Emily Ogden, Ready to Teach executive director for North Louisiana, and Dr. Keith Courville, A+PEL executive director. On the back row are Dr. Neeru Deep, dean of the Gallaspy College of Education and Human Development; Dr. April Giddens, interim director of the School of Education, and Dr. Dylan Solice, coordinator of NSU’s Educational Leadership program.