Valentina González and Analia Piantanida rarely see cultural diversity in the homogenous society of Uruguay, where both are English teachers in middle schools and high schools. Coming to Illinois as part of the NIU College of Education’s Uruguay Fulbright Teachers Program, however,
Read moreRochelle school leaders partner with NIU to identify, prepare, hire bilingual teachers
Jason Harper, superintendent of schools in nearby Rochelle, knows that the diversity of his community is evolving. Forty percent of the Hub City’s current population is Hispanic, a number that only will continue to rise in coming years. Harper also understands that
Read moreNew M.S.Ed. student ready to continue inspiring young daughter, fellow parents
Can I testify real quick? So begins Janet King’s Facebook hosanna in December upon her graduation from NIU, a journey longer than most, complete with a plot twist halfway through its tale of determination. Her story, a preface to her newly begun
Read moreSeven Golden Apple of Rockford finalists share NIU College of Education heritage
Seven of this year’s 20 Golden Apple of Rockford finalists are graduates of the NIU College of Education. They teach in Rockford, Belvidere, Durand, Machesney Park, Rockton and South Beloit. They teach preschool, kindergarten, third-grade, fourth-grade and fifth-grade. They came to teaching
Read moreCI’s Melanie Walski, Peet Smith co-author latest edition of noted textbook on fluency
Melanie Walski joined the NIU College of Education in the fall of 2016 as a visiting assistant professor. She was hired as tenure-track in 2017. Peet Smith came 12 months afterward, arriving in 2018. One year later, during the autumn semester of
Read moreElementary Ed’s Elgin 2+2 off to good start
Esme wants “to give something back to my community, and what better way to do it than by educating the leaders of tomorrow.” Lisset loves “working and interacting with children. I have always looked up to my teachers as role models, and
Read moreJames Cohen studies novel ideas to teach English during Fulbright visit to Uruguay
James Cohen will remember the dirt roads, and the long drives to reach the most rural schools in Uruguay. He’ll remember touring those buildings, seeing the kitchens where the teachers and students eat and the bedrooms where the teachers sleep during the
Read moreFirst cohort of Finland travelers return, minds open to innovative philosophies
Amanda Surrusco hadn’t expected the freedom. Maria Almeida hadn’t expected the differentiation. Kyle Conway hadn’t expected the trust. Surrusco, Almeida and Conway, three of the four NIU College of Education student-travelers on the inaugural Educate Global trip to Finland this May, witnessed
Read moreLiteracy Education grad students tutor, learn inside Jerry L. Johns Literacy Clinic
Danelle Davis spends most of her weekdays from August through May teaching in front of a classroom of nearly 30 first-graders. Summer 2019, however, has afforded the DeKalb School District 428 teacher the opportunity to work individually with a child who needs
Read moreEducate U.S., Engage U.S. celebrate second year of journeys to North Dakota, Colorado
Sometimes the second time around is just as sweet as the first. May 2019 saw the return of Educate U.S. in North Dakota and Engage U.S. in Colorado and Nebraska; both new options of the NIU College of Education programs debuted in
Read moreSTEM Read Summer Institute prepares educators to bring books, curiosity to life
Melanie Koss donned a headpiece that gave her deer ears, reclined motionless on a couch in the Gabel Hall Learning Center, closed her eyes and played the role of a deceased doe. And that wasn’t even the strangest sight at July’s NIU
Read more‘Keep talking’: Educators witness strength, advocacy at Social Justice Summer Camp
They were different women of different ages, sitting in different rooms, hearing different words on different subjects at different times. Yet their response – their natural, human reaction – was the same. The proverbial lumps in the throat, the moisture of not-quite-yet
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