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
Read moreShine on! Two alumnae named finalists for Chicago-area Golden Apple awards
One dreamed of teaching art but eventually decided that she would not pursue that goal – until, well, she did. The other wanted to work as a print journalist, and even did so for a while, but ultimately realized that she needed
Read moreSweet! COE alumna Lisa Robinson wins Rockford-area 2025 Golden Apple award
Lisa Robinson, kindergarten teacher at Rolling Green Elementary School, has been a Golden Apple finalist before. And now Robinson, who earned a B.S.Ed. in Special Education: Deaf and Hard of Hearing in 2004, is a winner. “Being recognized as a Top 20
Read moreAlumna Erin Anderson finds her place, Golden Apple recognition as a principal
Erin Anderson had witnessed a Golden Apple surprise before. March 16, 2023. An entourage of well-wishers had come to Harlem School District 122’s Donald C. Parker Early Education Center, where Anderson serves as principal. They huddled near her office, waiting to congratulate
Read moreGrateful: Double-alumna Mary Noe sees reward in sharing ‘gifts’ of NIU degrees
Mary Noe knows the key to flourishing and informational transactions between high school students and educators. Listening. “I feel that a lot of students do not have many people who would listen to them talk; they would talk at them but not
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