Cynthia Kilmer, a double-alumna of the NIU College of Education, has been named a 2025-26 Teach Plus Illinois Early Childhood Educator Policy Fellow. According to the Teach Plus website, the program selects outstanding teachers to “develop their leadership abilities and learn to
Read moreCollege to host Nov. 12 screening, panel to debut ‘A Teacher’s Shoes’ docu-film
What motivates educators to devote their lives to the process of teaching and learning? How do they find the energy to climb out of bed each morning, fill their water bottles, pack their lunches and drive through the darkness to their schools?
Read moreEducate Global trip to Indonesia offers rich experiences in cultural awareness
Before Daisy Cruz went on the Summer 2025 Educate Global trip to Indonesia, she considered herself “a very shy person.” Now the senior Elementary Education major classifies that as “stepping into her voice.” “My biggest reason why I wanted to experience this
Read moreNSF-funded study: Pi-Sui Hsu partners with West Aurora 129 for new research
Pi-Sui Hsu is celebrating a $100,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to advance her study of teaching scientific argumentation with technology. The federally funded, one-year project with teammate West Aurora School District 129 will examine challenges to that practice but also
Read moreMicro-moments, major impact: Summit shows teachers how to instill resilience
Ariella Cole hasn’t started teaching yet. Cole is among the 20 paraeducators currently pursuing NIU bachelor’s degrees in Elementary Education through the RISE (Rockford Inspiring School and Community Excellence) initiative. But she’s a behavioral intervention specialist who already works in District 205
Read morePLEDGE-ECC celebrates new graduates, program’s alumni roster surpasses 100
Olivia Warren had never really considered becoming a teacher. A part-time job as an elementary school cafeteria/recess aide changed that. “I was interested in going into social work because I really like the mental health aspect,” Warren says. “Then, I started working
Read moreNew Teacher Send-off urges graduates to believe ‘that every student can learn’
For the NIU College of Education’s spring group of educator licensure graduates, part of their professional mission was made clear May 9 during the New Teacher Send-off. Rachael Mahmood, the 2024 Illinois Teacher of the Year and a 2016 alumna of the
Read moreReading instructor Mary Gardner writes final chapter of 52-year education career
When Mary Gardner graduated from Western Illinois University with her bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education, the market for teachers wasn’t nearly as exciting as she was excited to get a classroom. “Enrollments were just starting to drop, and it was like schools
Read moreA heart for students: Kim Suedbeck set to retire from instilling future teachers with compassion, grand expectations
Life has come full circle for Kim Suedbeck. “I started babysitting at a young age. I loved kids, and I always thought I was going to be a teacher – and I never changed my mind,” says Suedbeck, a clinical assistant professor
Read moreYum! Elementary Ed majors talk pizza, engage Chana Education Center pupils
Whether pizza truly is America’s favorite food is the stuff(ed crust) of hopeless debate. But considering the infinite personal preferences for preparing a pie, it’s no surprise how many ways that creative teachers can slice it up for the sake of learning.
Read moreKildeer Countryside School District 96 celebrates decade of M.S.Ed. partnership
Kildeer Countryside School District 96 is home to around 3,400 Pre-K-through-eighth-grade students who live in southern Lake County, a diverse community where more than 60 languages are spoken. Five of its seven buildings are U.S. Department of Education National Blue Ribbon Schools.
Read moreNIU middle-level education curriculum earns national accreditation, recognition
NIU’s program in Middle Level Teaching and Learning has received accreditation and national recognition from the Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE). The favorable review follows years of internal data collection and annual reporting to the university that began in 2018, which
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