Maddi Bodine knew in advance that she needed to gather with her Kingston Elementary School community at half-past nine that Thursday morning. Yet the teacher of Pre-K students with special needs only had part of the story. Children and their teachers at
Read moreTrailblazers: NIU, ECC salute first cohort of Elementary Ed graduates via PLEDGE
Fifteen newly minted teachers are ready to return to the school districts where they grew up and, thanks to a partnership between Elgin Community College and Northern Illinois University, never really left. The students completed their first two years at ECC and
Read moreA message from Dean Laurie Elish-Piper
We made it! As we close another successful semester of teaching, learning, research and service, despite extraordinarily challenging circumstances, I’m thrilled that I can write (and live!) those happy words. Reasons for optimism are easy to find. I’m fully vaccinated, and I’m
Read moreStephanie DeSpain among first winners of inaugural NIU online teaching award
Stephanie DeSpain can count herself among forward-thinking educators who were somewhat prepared to handle the sudden shift to remote learning in March 2020. An assistant professor of Early Childhood Education, DeSpain already had developed and was teaching some classes online in the
Read moreTransfers to BSAM-ITTE program find confidence, avenues for career growth
Christine Bailey has worked in information technology for more than two decades, many of those years as a systems analyst for K-12 public education. At age 47, she is ready to make her impact in a new way. “For 11 years, I
Read moreLearning to respond, not react: Course aims to equip trauma-informed teachers
Numbers begin to tell the story. Around two-thirds of children in the United States experience some form of trauma before the age of 16. Help for each could come in a 15-minute pull-out once a week at school with a trained counselor
Read moreNIU distributing iBill currency readers to individuals with visual impairments
NIU is now a distribution center for free iBill currency readers that enable people with visual disabilities to sort their paper money. The designation from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Bureau of Engraving and Printing comes thanks to the work of
Read moreAlumni in sport-related jobs discuss industry response to COVID-19’s blitz
COVID-19 called a time-out on everything – sports included. Four alumni of the NIU Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education who work in the industry – a player, a coach and two front office professionals – talked during the April 14 Whiteboard
Read moreLaVerne Gyant ready for retirement, confident in future of higher education
This wasn’t the life LaVerne Gyant had sketched out for herself. She had grown up in Chester, Pa., designing her own clothes – and, under the loving tutelage of her grandmother, Lottie Ennett, sewing those garments by hand and by machine. Yes,
Read moreNIU, Elgin Community College partner for Special Education transfer pathway
Another bachelor’s degree pathway is now available for Elgin-area students who want to become NIU College of Education-graduated teachers without traveling to DeKalb. NIU and Elgin Community College will launch a cohort this fall in Special Education, the second such collaboration and
Read moreEducate Global taps Zoom to connect with another new destination: Ukraine
Call it perfect timing. Fall 2020: Mariana Ricklefs begins her second year on the faculty of the NIU Department of Curriculum and Instruction, thrilled to share in the launch of new (and virtual) Educate Global program with Spain and organized by colleague
Read moreElementary Ed major Julie Chavez earns NIU Intern of the Year award, job for fall
School occupies a special place in Julie Chavez’s heart. “I had quite the unstable childhood, and school was really my safe place. I had a meal; I had teachers who cared about me; it was structured – I just really thrived in
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