An innovative plan to increase the number of teachers in Texas Panhandle school districts was announced Sept. 12 by West Texas A&M University and Amarillo College officials.

One2Teach will significantly reduce the time and costs for high school students who want to become teachers.

“We think this new collaborative effort addresses the significant challenges of recruiting teachers and of student debt,” said Dr. Beth Garcia, assistant dean of graduate programs and professional certifications in WT’s Terry B. Rogers College of Education and Social Sciences. “High school students who know they have a passion for teaching but are concerned about the cost and time of pursuing that degree now have a pathway to their own classroom that will begin even before they earn their high school diploma.”