Spring greetings from the Department of Special and Early Education! It is hard to believe that commencement is just around the corner.
As a magnificent thunderstorm brews outside my window, I am reminded that spring brings change – change for flora; change in temperatures and weather patterns; even change in time as we turn the clocks forward.
The 2021-2022 academic year has brought a variety of changes to the Department of Special and Early Education as we leap forward. These changes have stretched and challenged our faculty and instructors, but they have worked hard to meet the demands of growing enrollment.
Arrivals
- In fall 2021, Dr. Stephen Walker joined the SEED faculty to work with Drs. Jesse (Woody) Johnson, Jeff Chan and Natalie Andzik in our growing Board Certified Behavior Analyst program.
- The BCBA program grew from one to two cohorts (approximately 70 students) in 2021-2022. The second cohort of BCBA students includes employees from Little City, Turning Pointe and Clearbrooke, organizations serving individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities.
- Drs. Anna Brady-Ruehs, an NIU alumna, and Kim Suedbeck joined SEED’s faculty as visiting assistant professors to provide excellence in instruction to students in our “LEAP” (licensed educator accelerated pathway) students.
- In conjunction with Elgin SD U-46 and Rockford SD205, SEED initiated two “LEAP” contract cohorts to address the need for special education teachers in these districts. More than 50 paraprofessional and support staff began their professional educator licensure coursework in January 2022 with targeted completion in summer 2023.
- Wendy Marshall has come on board as our new advisor/completion coach for Early Childhood, which has begun recruitment of students to address teacher shortages.
- Qualifying students in early childhood programs can receive full cost of attendance at two- and four-year institutions of higher education through the Early Childhood Access Consortium for Equity. To qualify for funding at NIU, students must have been members of incumbent workforce in early childhood (birth to age 5) with junior status, and complete the application process on the ISAC website.
Departures
Sadly, 2021-2022 brought the retirements of some of our valued team members: Dr. Toni Van Laarhoven, Laurel Burman (instructor in the Vision Program), Jan Hart (special education supervisor), Jean Searls (early childhood supervisor) and Marc Sgro (instructor in the Director of Special Education program).
We wish them well in their retirement, and know that they will be greatly missed by faculty and students alike.
What’s New
One thing that has not changed is our faculty’s dedication to modeling outstanding teaching and scholarship for their students.
- In fall 2021, Dr. Jesse (Woody) Johnson was named the College of Education’s Senior Faculty Fellow.
- Two of his BCBA students, Regina Coombs and Lauren McTag, will present poster sessions at the ABAI conference in St. Louis.
- Dr. Stephanie DeSpain won NIU’s Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award, a student-nominated, student-driven award process; in spring 2021, she received one of NIU’s inaugural Excellence in Online Instruction awards.
- Drs. Rachel Donegan, Lydia Gerzel-Short and Molly Pasley received Certificates in Effective College Instruction from ACUE after completing their 25-module course in effective teaching practices.
- Dr. Stacy Kelly received certification from the A11Y project, completing training in online accessibility for students with visual and other impairments.
- More than 10 students in the graduate program in Assistive Technology for Persons with Vision Impairments will join Dr. Kelly at the International Vision Conference this summer.
- Two of Dr. Andzik’s undergraduate students, Aidan Bengford and Alicia Lorouech, presented their research findings in the Student Research Symposium (April 2022).
- Dr. Donegan continues to conduct research on reading instruction engaging her first-professional semester students in her scholarly activities.
- Drs. Andzik and Walker received an internal grant to support their research on use of augmentative communication devices with children with repetitive behaviors (stereotypies).
Good News
- Barbara and Joe King, founders of the Penguin Players on campus, received the Presidential Commission on Persons with Disabilities’ Advocate Award for a Community Partner. Through the Kings’ continued partnership, NIU students mentor adults with disabilities to organize and perform in a musical theater production.
- In summer 2021, Dr. Natalie Young and teachers at Lincoln Elementary in Bellwood, IL identified and purchased a “Peace Library” to teach social-emotional skills to young children. These resources were purchased using funds donated by the Kambich family. In April 2022, early childhood teacher-candidates in their junior year used these materials to prepare and deliver lessons to small groups of second-graders at Lincoln Elementary. In addition, the participating second-grade teachers received gifts of read-aloud books and practitioner materials based on the Montessori method. This co-curricular activity has been transformational for many of our teacher-candidates, who had never seen themselves teaching in a high-minority, high-poverty setting. We continue to explore cross-curricular activities for the learning-behavior I (special education) and vision teacher candidates.
What’s Next
We like to think we are changing the family trees of our students through the instruction and support we provide. But we could not do it without supporters like yourselves!
Thank you for your ongoing encouragement and participation in our work in educator preparation. We look forward to welcoming you back to campus for events including Homecoming this fall!
If you have any questions, or if I can be of assistance, please contact me at lhedin@niu.edu or at 815-753-8421.
Laura Hedin, Ph.D.
Chair, Special and Early Education
