Seventeen graduates. Seventeen jobs.

Mount Marty College’s school of education had 17 graduates this year, all of whom found jobs teaching in classrooms throughout the region.

“In years past, some students have taken jobs as paraprofessionals or in other fields,” said Nick Shudak, director of the Masters of Teacher Education at MMC. “With small colleges and with people that come to places like Mount Marty, oftentimes they can be location-bound and can’t look for a job outside where they live. Despite that, we’ve still seen really high placement rates.”

Some years with lower placement rates could be due to students not looking for jobs or not able to leave their home for a number of different reasons, Shudak said.

“We also have a remarkable rate of students who stay in school districts for more than five years,” he said. “This becomes a reflection on the teacher preparation program at Mount Marty — a lot of new teachers (nationwide) won’t make it past their first few years in the field.”

Shudak added that the high number of students staying in the education field shows that Mount Marty prepares students to work in education and deal with all the demands that come with working with students.

“Even our students that end up working as paraprofessionals end up working in the field for a long period of time,” he said. “This shows how strong our program is. Although this year we have 100 percent of our graduates working in classrooms, other years have seen strong placement rates, as well.”

Shudak credits the students who he says work hard to get out there and find jobs after they graduate.

“Teachers want to teach. We tell freshmen that if you want to teach, you’ll be able to find a job,” he said. “Our program is built on working with schools and the fact that we always have high placement rates is reflective on the districts and teachers that work with us every year, and we’re thankful for that.”

One way Mount Marty helps students in the education program find jobs is through a senior seminar.

“The class helps students reflect on their student teaching experiences,” Shudak said. “It also involves help with writing cover letters and resumes, and we help students with interviewing skills, as well.”

He noted the high placement rates are important when talking to prospective students.

“When interested students visit campus with their parents, some of them might come on with scholarships, but private liberal arts colleges have a decent-sized tuition,” Shudak said. “Parents often ask if their kids will find jobs. With these numbers, we can tell them with some level of assurance that they will be able to find jobs. However, it’s not going to be magic, and they will have to put in the work to get a job.”

Chris Riley graduated from Mount Marty’s school of education in May and took a job teaching sixth grade social studies at the Belle Fourche School District. He credits his education at Mount Marty for helping him find a job.

“Mount Marty helped me a lot, even though I applied for the job on my own,” he said. “During the interview process at Belle Fourche, they asked me 20 questions, and I had already rehearsed all of the questions they asked with my professors beforehand.”

Riley said that he knew his education and student teaching experience makes him well prepared to have his own classroom at Belle Fourche. He is looking forward to having his own classroom.

“I’m really looking forward to interacting with students and knowing that my classroom is my own,” Riley said. “I’m going to try out different types of instruction to find out what will and won’t work.”

Shudak said he is excited that all students were able to find jobs in classrooms this year.

“We’re all tickled that 100 percent of our students placed, even though we do, generally, have a high placement rate,” he said. “The fact that all students got jobs before June is big for us. However, this wouldn’t be possible without the school districts and cooperating teachers we work with.”

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