Professional LEAP Toward Education

Sheryl E. Perry, NAAE Graduate Assistant

Agricultural professionals who are looking to change the focus of their career may be able to acquire teaching certification through North Carolina State University’s Licensure in Education for Agricultural Professionals (LEAP) program.

LEAP is available nationwide and is delivered through distance education technologies such as the Internet and videoconferencing. LEAP is academically challenging and requires a serious commitment from those enrolled.

Professionals who have baccalaureate degrees in agriculture, natural resources, and other closely related disciplines could obtain the qualifications needed to switch the focus of their careers from industry to education. This 24-semester hour course of study can be completed in approximately 18 months. Applicants are also encouraged (but not required) to enroll in graduate school at North Carolina State University because 18-semester hours would count towards a Master’s degree in Agricultural Education.

To be admitted into the LEAP program, the applicant must:
• Possess a baccalaureate degree in agriculture, natural resources, or closely related field from an accredited institution of higher education in the United States
• Have accumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.5 on all collegiate level work
• Submit an essay detailing why he or she desires to be an agricultural educator
• Submit three (3) letters of recommendation that focus on the applicant’s character, work ethic, academic ability and suitability to becoming an educator

Upon completion of the LEAP program, students will receive a class “A” teaching license from the state of North Carolina. This teaching license is recognized by 49 states (with Louisiana as the exception), Department of Defense schools, and the U.S. Territories.

For each course LEAP offers, North Carolina State University collaborates with a professor at another university who had expertise in that area to help develop course content. Seven universities, the National FFA Organization, and the National Association of Agricultural Educators are collaborating for the success of the LEAP program. Program courses include Agricultural Education, Schools and Society; Occupational Experience in Agriculture; Youth Organization Management; Planning Agricultural Education; Instructional Design in Agricultural Education; Curriculum Development in Agricultural and Extension Education; Teaching Agriculture in Secondary Schools; and Practicum in Agricultural and Extension Education (student teaching/intern under the guidance of an experienced agricultural educator). Students are also required to take two courses in psychology.

For more information about the LEAP program, contact Dr. Gary Moore by phone: (919) 515-1756 or e-mail: gary_moore@ncsu.edu

References:

http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/agexed/leap/index.html

Leith, Terri. LEAP Into the Classroom. Perspectives On-Line, The Magazine of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, North Carolina State University: Spring 2002.

A LEAP in the Right Direction. Making a Difference: October 2002.

Reese, Susan. Cultivating an Interest in Teaching Agriculture. TECHniques: May 2001