A growing CCU program is helping fill critical roles in the Grand Strand

CONWAY, SC (WMBF) - Horry County Schools welcomed around 350 new teachers this year, and the district said nearly 100 of them just graduated from Coastal Carolina University.

It’s all thanks to a partnership between the district and the university. The district allows CCU students in the education program to do their student teaching within the district.

It’s one of the very few programs giving college students hands-on experience in the classroom as early as their freshman year.

Recent graduate Lindsay Lachenmayer said the program prepared her with nearly 500 hours of student teaching in her senior year alone. She believes it helped her secure her first teaching job at Saint James Elementary.

“I’ve been to five different schools within the internship,” Lachenmayer said. “So, it helped me get a foot in the door. They also helped prepare you for interviews, so we were able to be set up for success when we were going into positions.”

The program not only makes hiring easier for the school district, it also helps Chanticleers plant permanent roots in the Grand Strand, according to the program’s director of clinical services and education licensure, Betsey Costner.

“Once they see what the classrooms are like and the level of support provided by the districts, they don’t wanna leave,” Costner said. “So, even our out-of-state students that are coming down decide they want to stay here.”

Costner said the program is now offering paid internships and hopes to add mentorship opportunities in the future.

The university also partners with districts in Georgetown, Florence and Lexington counties.

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