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What it’s about
If you have a passion for nurturing growing minds, enriching young people’s lives, and influencing the next generation, a career in education may be your calling. This rewarding career path is vital to growing our future and cultivating our society. Find fulfillment and purpose through our Education programs today.
Blue Ridge graduates also have the opportunity to transfer their credits toward four-year degrees at colleges and universities across the state.
View Education Articulated Programs
Request Information about Education ProgramsEarly Childhood Programs
Our Early Childhood programs are accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). Students will apply their learned theories in real-life school settings. Curricula includes coursework in child growth and development, physical/nutritional needs of children, care and guidance of children, and communication skills with parents and children. Students learn to foster the cognitive/language, physical/motor, social/emotional and creative development of children.
Not only do we provide a hands-on learning experience, but we also make it easy for you to obtain your two-year associate degree.
- convenient: Earn a degree all online or a combination of online and in-person instruction.
- affordable: Already employed in the childcare workforce? Explore financial opportunities under the North Carolina TEACH scholarship program.
- qualified: Our Education pathways are accredited by the NAEYC. Both programs offer great articulation agreements with four-year schools. The Early Childhood Education Degree program has a new 2+2 transfer agreement with all North Carolina Universities (UNC System).
Teacher Preparation (K-12) Programs
K-12 teachers prepare students to become responsible citizens and adults with the tools needed for success in life. Blue Ridge’s Teacher Preparation associate degree programs will give you a running start toward your future as a teacher. Our Teacher Preparation pathways are designed as transfer degrees for those wanting to teach kindergarten through twelfth grade, and they include both Associate of Arts and Associate of Science degrees. These degrees are designed to be “2+2” transfer degrees, that is, two years at Blue Ridge Community College earning your associate’s degree, plus two years at a university to complete your bachelor’s degree in teaching elementary, middle or high school.
A Path from Student to Teacher
Thanks to key partnerships with local school systems in Henderson and Transylvania County, the path to becoming an educator is more effective and affordable than ever. For example, Henderson County Public Schools’ (HCPS) three-course Teaching as a Profession (TaaP) program helps high school students learn and apply new skills while earning credits transferable toward Blue Ridge’s Education programs. Combined with Blue Ridge’s Career & College Promise program where high school students take additional education courses on their high school campus, a student can complete more than half of an associates degree before their high school graduation day. Combined with possible eligibility for Blue Ridge scholarships and HCPS’ Grow Your Own scholarship for future teachers – as well as Blue Ridge’s credit transfer agreements with institutions across North Carolina – students have a path to becoming an educator that is a more affordable and attainable path than ever.