SCHNECKSVILLE, Pa. | There’s a new opportunity ahead for would-be teachers.

Lehigh Career & Technical Institute is piloting a new dual-enrollment program for 12th graders who aspire to be educators. Future Educators is designed to give high school seniors a head start on college while exposing them to a variety of education careers.

A handful of qualified students from LCTI’s Teacher Education program are participating in the 2023-2024 pilot. They’ll have opportunities to job shadow or train with teachers at LCTI and Lehigh County schools.

Students will take their dual-enrollment courses at Lehigh Carbon Community College, starting with Foundations in Education this fall. They’ll follow up with Introduction to Special Education and Careers in Education next spring. Combined, the courses are worth seven college credits.

LCTI’s Joint Operating Committee signed off on the pilot in June. Ms. Kathy Khanuja, an English teacher in the Academic Center at LCTI, is set to lead the program. Future Educators is structured much like Animal Sciences and Emerging Health Professionals, the school’s other dual-enrollment programs for 12th-grade students.