Regents see value of partnership between Local schools, University
Nancy Horst, Special to the Gazette
Friday, October 17, 2008
William Allen White Elementary School hosted several members of the Kansas Board of Regents this week to show the value of a teacher-education partnership with Emporia State University.
Each year, Emporia State University places dozens of future teachers as interns in Professional Development Schools, working under the supervision of veteran Emporia teachers.
The interns spend an entire year at the school as part of their final teacher-education preparation. The PDS internship replaces the traditional semester of student teaching. Emporia is one of 11 Kansas school districts participating in the PDS program.
Regents Richard Hedges, Dan Lykins, Janie Perkins and Gary Sherrer toured W.A. White on Tuesday to see a Professional Development School in action. The tour was part of a day-long visit of the ESU campus.
W.A. White is one of eight PDS schools in the Emporia district, and the first in the district to join the program in 1996, according to Dee Holmes, director of the PDS Program at ESU. This fall, 48 interns are working with teachers in Emporia’s six K-4 schools and Lowther North.
Principal Alberto Carrillo described the PDS partnership as a win-win for his school, veteran teachers and the teachers in training. It puts more adults in the classrooms to work with students, he said, and it helps veteran teachers sharpen their professional skills.
“It truly is a partnership,” said Scott Waters, ESU professor of elementary teacher education and PDS site coordinator for W.A. White. “We feel like one of the strengths is our students get to experience everything in a year, from the opening of school to parent-teacher conferences. We are often told that our graduates are more like second- or third-year teachers.”
The Regents were greeted by four members of the Student Leadership Council — Deanna Durler, Cooper Evans, Diamond Logan, and Dominik Weidner. The fourth graders also joined the Regents on the tour and answered questions about their school.
They also talked with PDS intern Sara Chrystie, who described her experience so far as valuable.
“It’s a chance for me to get a little taste of it all before I have my own classroom,” she said.
kseyetie (anonymous) says...
Great program; keep it up.
October 22, 2008 at 9:25 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )