As a new group of NIU College of Education licensure majors prepared to graduate and become professionals in the classroom, a seasoned veteran advised them to pack well for the journey ahead. Their luggage, said Dominique Yackley, must include “exuberance.” “If you
Read moreCampus teamwork yields study guides to help Huskies ace state licensure tests
Illinois Licensure Testing System (ILTS) Study Guides are now available at Founders Memorial Library. Passage of the state tests, administered by the Illinois State Board of Education, is required before newly minted graduates can begin their classroom careers. Those claiming multiple endorsements
Read morePhotos: New Teacher Send-off
The NIU College of Education recognized December graduates of licensure programs Dec. 9 during the New Teacher Send-off event in Cavan Auditorium. Evadne Bowlin, who earned her B.S.Ed. in Elementary Education in 2020, delivered the keynote address. “With all the lessons and
Read moreA life in ‘the middle’: Jenny Parker ready to travel, enjoy family time in retirement
Jenny Parker was teaching and coaching at Cheltenham Ladies’ College in the United Kingdom when she found something intriguing in her mail. “My mother sent me an ad from the local paper for an International Rotary Foundation scholarship. I don’t think she
Read morePhotos: Future Teachers Conference
More than 275 high school students from 14 schools in the Valley Education for Employment System and Waubonsee Community College area came to the NIU campus Sept. 28 for the Future Teachers Conference. Kimberly Radostits, 2022 Illinois Teacher of the Year, delivered
Read moreSupervisors needed for spring semester student-teaching, early field placements
Behind every great teacher is an amazing student-teaching supervisor. Do you know recently retired teachers looking for part-time work with flexible hours that would allow them to remain active in teaching without the day-to-day commitment of classroom instruction? NIU needs university supervisors
Read moreFuture Teachers Conference welcomes 233 high school students to NIU campus to explore potential careers in education
For the high school students who attended April 27’s Future Teachers Conference at NIU to learn more about careers in education, the message was clear. Laurie Elish-Piper, dean of the College of Education, was thrilled they had come, grateful for their intentions
Read moreTeacher-licensure candidates volunteer at professional development conference
When the invitation came from the college’s Office for Student Success to attend the National Association for Professional Development Schools (NAPDS) February conference in Chicago, the undergraduate teacher-licensure candidates weren’t sure what to make of it. But they weren’t about to pass
Read moreNIU’s Educators Rising chapter hoping to engage, mentor high school groups
Members of the NIU College of Education’s still-young chapter of Educators Rising are devoted to furthering their preparation, enhancing their marketability – and, they hope, making meaningful connections with those students who will follow in their footsteps. “When we began Educators Rising,
Read moreHere We Grow: Elementary Education
One year after Sally Blake arrived to lead the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, she joined in the August 2019 “grand opening” celebration of a new partnership with Elgin Community College to offer NIU’s B.S.Ed. in Elementary Education there. And she’s still
Read moreClinical supervisor Megan Gerken finds bright workarounds for COVID’s puzzles
Megan Gerken had Monday, March 16, circled on her calendar. That was the day the clinical supervisor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction expected to welcome representatives from Deans for Impact, who were coming to observe a pilot round of their
Read moreCollege launches Educators Rising, members find development, support
Abigail Wright honestly can’t remember wanting to become anything but a teacher. “My mom has videos and picture of me playing school when I was in preschool, and all of my friends had to be the students. I was always the teacher,”
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