Elementary school teachers in Lincoln County and surrounding areas can pursue a master’s degree locally through a Mississippi College program that began in 2014.

“We offer a Masters in Elementary Education here in Clinton on campus,” Dr. Sydney Holbert with the program said. “We decided we wanted to start another branch, and thought that teachers in Brookhaven didn’t have a lot of close universities to work on a master’s degree. That’s why we decided to go to Brookhaven — to give the teachers in that area an opportunity to go to school at a local place, but have faculty from our main campus teaching there.”

Enrollment in the program requires a bachelor’s degree in education along with a teaching license issued by the Mississippi Department of Education, though Holbert said there is an alternative route where people majoring in other fields can be issued a license after taking a few courses.

Holbert said completing the master’s program is a great way for teachers to get familiar with state-of-the-art education methods and best practices. Holbert’s area of expertise is mathematics education, and she said the emphasis with Common Core is problem solving rather than memorizing step-by-step procedures called algorithms.

“Instruction in the math classroom has moved away from the traditional, where you picture the student sitting in rows and the teacher writing on the board and showing students how to work an algorithm. Then they practice together and the students practice on their own.

“In math, we really want the students engaged in problem solving, and so as the teacher I’ll give you a really good problem or task or something that you have to figure out, basically to let them discover the math on their own. And they do that in groups, because in the real world, we can ask our peers for their advice,” Holbert said. “We’re teaching them how to do that in the classroom. Then they will present their ideas to the class and we’ll have a discussion. That’s the main thing that I see. We’ve gone from that traditional classroom to a discovery and working together type of classroom.”

Holbert said the program is typically two classes a semester for four semesters, though she said MC will work with teachers who only have time for one class a semester. One class will be face-to-face with a professor from Clinton, and another will be taken online.

“The Brookhaven area teachers, we’re coming to their neighborhood. That’s the main advantage,” Holbert said. “They don’t have to drive to Clinton or Hattiesburg or somewhere else. Because the classes have been somewhat smaller, we’re able to give more one-on-one attention. That’s a real advantage.”

Teachers interested in signing up for the program can go to mc.edu/brookhaven. Candidates employed as full-time teachers are eligible for a 30 percent tuition reduction through the Professional Development Scholarship. Classes take place at 127 S. Railroad Ave. in Brookhaven.