Joe Lubig, Northern Michigan University

By Journal Staff

MARQUETTE — Beginning this semester, Northern Michigan University is partnering with Bark River-Harris High School to offer NMU’s first dual enrollment course in the field of education.

Sixteen students from BR-H and three to five students from Nah Tah Wahsh Public School Academy are participating in the course, “Schooling in America.” The goals are to give students the opportunity to gain college credits while in high school, and to potentially interest them in pursuing a career in education.

“It’s essentially an NMU course that’s being taught at an off-campus location,” said Joe Lubig, NMU’s associate dean and director of education, in a Radio Results Network interview. “We have our syllabus with the expectations for the class, as well as two of our alumni who teach at Bark River-Harris who will be teaching the class. The students will be taught at their high school, and on their schedule.”

The idea is to engage high school students in academic majors that they may want to pursue after graduation. To help with this, Lubig has also been working with BR-H and Nah Tah Wahsh to have those students come to NMU — not only to see the campus, but to show them the opportunities they will have if they choose to pursue advanced studies in the field of education.

“We have a shortage of teachers right now,” Lubig said in the interview. “There’s a lot of state support and funding — bipartisan — that’s being put in to try and resolve that, but still it’s going to take local partnerships; it’s going to take schools and universities, community colleges and tribal colleges working together to make young people aware of what opportunities exist.”

Travis DePuydt, BR-H High School principal and a 2014 NMU alumnus, stated on the same program that he was excited for the opportunity to offer this class in partnership with NMU, and his district is continuing to explore new and exciting opportunities.