Teachers in the wings
Joliet partnership: USF student teachers, grade district team up
By Ted Slowik
STAFF WRITER
JOLIET — Second-graders in Collette Quigley's class at A.O. Marshall School are breaking into smaller groups to practice their reading. The 7-year-olds are at different skill levels, so Quigley takes one group, another reads on its own, and student teacher Amy Lanham leads the third group.
Lanham, an education major at the University of St. Francis, is treated more like a co-teacher than an intern.
"Each person is going to read a page. If you're listening to someone else read, you're going to point (in your books) and follow along," she tells her group.
This marks the start of the third year of a partnership between the University of St. Francis and the Joliet Grade School District. Student teachers spend two semesters working without pay in elementary school classrooms, earning the credits and experience they need to graduate.
For the school district, it's like having an army of free student aides. Youngsters benefit from the additional instruction and attention afforded by having a second teacher in the classroom.
The education majors gradually assume more teacher and planning responsibilities as the semester wears on. They spend both semesters at the same school, though with different grades so they pick up a range of instructional experience.
"When you have large classes, it's more hands-on because you can do smaller groups," said Linda Scott, principal at Marshall.
Team teaching
This is the start of the second year the partnership has affected Marshall, where 11 student teachers are working this fall. This is the third year the program is in place at Farragut School, where 15 student teachers are doing their practicums.
Organizers say they use the program to emphasize team-teaching concepts.
"We immerse them in the classroom experience on a much greater level than traditional student teachers," said John Gambro, dean of the university's College of Education.
Participants say the experience is valuable. Student teacher Julie Kandall is working with Karen Ball's third-grade class at Farragut this semester.
"When Ms. Ball introduced me to her class, she didn't introduce me as 'my student teacher' — she introduced me as 'my partner,'" Kandall said.
Job opportunities
Another benefit of the partnership is that it creates employment opportunities for the student teachers. This year, Brandie Davis, 22 of Crest Hill is teaching first grade at Farragut. She's the first collegian to complete the program and be hired by the school district.
"It was good to spend the entire school year in one building. You felt more comfortable with everything going on," Davis said of her student teaching experience.
The partnership, known as Professional Development Schools, also is expanding this year to include other areas of study besides education. This fall, two social work majors will work at Marshall, and over the summer students from the College of Nursing administered back-to-school physicals to pupils at Farragut and Marshall.
"That reflects our joint philosophy that in order to reach the child, we need to address the needs of the whole child," Gambro said.
-Reporter Ted Slowik can be reached at (815) 729-6053 or tslowik@scn1.com.
9/3/05
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