Overview of the Future Teachers Academy

The Future Teachers Academy seeks to provide a high quality educational opportunity for young high school students interested in exploring the profession of teaching in a high technology environment at a summer academy on the NSU campus. Many students in the rural and reservation schools throughout South Dakota are economically disadvantaged, isolated by distance, and do not had opportunities to participate in advanced educational experiences.

The Future Teachers Academy seeks to increase the pool of prospective teachers by recruiting teacher education candidates from the rural and reservation schools through the summer academy. In addition, prospective teacher education students attending the academy will explore technological means of delivering instruction that enhances the instructional environment of small rural schools. 

The Future Teachers Academy seeks to provide opportunities for high school students in rural and reservation schools to investigate the professional experiences that await them as potential educators. This experience will encourage students to stay in school and to proceed with confidence to college. The summer academy is designed to encourage high school students who are interested in becoming teachers to follow their dreams and to gain an understanding of what they can do to prepare themselves to be successful in a teacher education program.