Bridget Belcastro can’t forget the conversation. She was majoring in English at NIU, eager to become a teacher, and heard something thoroughly laughable as she and some classmates carpooled to Jefferson High School in Rockford. “I was a junior or a senior
Read moreTriple-alumna Jodi Megerle thriving in River Trails 26
Jodi Megerle is passionate about River Trails Elementary School District 26. “I love the size. I love that it’s so very close-knit,” says Megerle, a three-time NIU College of Education alumna. “Even when I was hired, and when we hire new teachers
Read moreLEFP Alumni Accomplishments
Congratulations to these graduates of the Department of Leadership, Educational Psychology and Foundations! Cory Burke, B.S.Ed. Elementary Education, ’05, and M.S.Ed. Educational Administration, ’10, has been named principal of Hinsdale Middle School in Community Consolidated Elementary District 181. Bringing experience at the
Read moreCleaning up: Ed.S. student recalls path from custodian to curriculum director
Like many teens, Michael Courington was dying to get a job. “My family didn’t have a lot of money growing up. I was chomping at the bit to turn 16 to start working because I wanted a car,” Courington says. “My mother
Read moreEd.S. student accepts new challenge while closing in on NIU superintendency degree
During Matt Birdsley’s high school days in Fulton, Ill., he took advantage of – and thoroughly enjoyed – service-learning opportunities that allowed him to work with elementary school students. Those positive interactions led Birdsley to the NIU College of Education, where he
Read moreSuperintendency alums look back fondly on NIU preparation, forward to new roles
Charlie Kyle and Matt Barbini, alums of NIU’s various Educational Administration programs, are celebrating new professional milestones. Kyle, who completed his Ed.D. in 2017, his Ed.S in 2004 and his M.S.Ed. in 2001, was named in 2018 as the assistant superintendent of
Read moreEd.D. in Ed Administration receives new name, focus
Following the Illinois General Assembly’s update of the Illinois School Code standards for new school superintendents, the NIU Department of Leadership, Educational Psychology and Foundations accordingly redesigned its programs. That work has resulted in untangling the Ed.S. – an educational specialist degree
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