what is the best accredited university online to get my bachelor’s degree in elementary education?

I’m not sure about on-line universities, but keep in mind that getting a degree in elementary education requires a lot of observations and student teaching. You will be required to go to schools and observe teachers, work with small groups of students, and do your semester or year long student teaching internship. Those things cannot be completed on-line.

I think the answer depends upon if you already have a degree or not.

If you are starting from scratch (without a bachelors in any area), you can probably take your core classes online (English, psychology, math, and so on), but you would need to do your student teaching in person.

My student teaching experience was from August through June, Monday – Friday, 8:00 – 4:30 (without pay). If you choose to work during this time, you would have to do it in the evening or on the weekends, but keep in mind that student teaching is a “job” and you’ll be required to plan lessons, grade, etc. on your own time beyond the school day.

Contact the Department of Education in the state that you reside. They will be able to provide you with the required courses/degree that you would need and possibly a list of accredited schools that would meet your needs. You may also want to visit your local elementary school and ask the same of them in person (you’ll want to do this quick as school will be starting very soon and it gets pretty crazy).

Also, check out grants, student loans and so on for those entering the teaching profession. Often, you can find “free” money since there is a shortage of teaching professionals in many areas.

Good luck!

Go to www.wgu.edu It is the website for Western Governors University and when I attended it was the only completely on-line school that was accredited. Their website describes their accreditation and available teaching programs.

What makes this program great is that while you are held accountable to make certain progress–you work at your own pace! If I had a project at work or if the kids were home sick…I didn’t have to be somewhere or miss course work. Tuition is based on a six month term–you must finish the minimum work, but I worked ahead so I could finish sooner (and save tuition money too :o). They will assign a mentor who will keep you on track (mine was just a fountain of information and a really sincerely caring individual!) and surprisingly, I found I great support system within the WGU community. I hooked up with a wonderful “study buddy” from my initial class and their message boards were a great place to hookup with people with any questions. Please be aware though that when I went, there was a “demonstration teaching” requirement (student teaching)…you may have to plan for that with your full time job. You can start the beginning of any month. You can have an admissions counselor talk to you about the program–the one who spoke to me was a sweet-heart, not pushy, but just very informative.

I hold my teaching license in Colorado and now in Vermont. I very highly recommend Western Governors University. Good luck to you!

No! Do not earn your degree on-line you will need to learn much more than they can provide you with. I am going thought a masters of teaching program right now and I know several people in the same program that went through an on-line program and could not find jobs they were informed that most school districts will never accept degrees from on-line schools so they had to pay twice as much for a useless degree. I hope this helps good luck!

I would suggest looking into colleges nearby where you live and see if they have adult college programs, because many colleges have started to recognize the needs of working adults and are now offering classes online.

I am starting a program like this at DePaul University in Chicago. It is for adults 24 or older. They offer the ability to get your degree online. (no need to be on campus)

Here is their link so you can check it out if you like. http://www.snl.depaul.edu/

Good Luck!!

Check out http://XRL.us/3q3e , its an “Education Advancement” site where you can search for the degree you’d like and it’ll show you a list of online schools that have that program and then you cantype in your personal information so they can contact you….good luck!