Taren Turner frames her obligation as an educator in terms of “ensuring responsiveness and innovation.” And the director of Alternative Education Programming for the Rockford Public Schools has discovered ways to do just that in the RISE (Rockford Inspiring School and Community
Read moreAlready ‘rising’: RPS-205 students start strong toward grow-your-own degrees
While they still have 18 months to go, the future teachers enrolled in the Grow Your Own RISE (Rockford Inspiring School and Community Excellence) initiative are off to a great start. At the midpoint of the fall semester, the students (all current
Read moreA person in the world: Educate Global students transformed by Indonesia visit
Nicholas Koronkiewicz was born and raised in Bolingbrook, the only place he’s called home. Just coming to the cornfields of DeKalb as a transfer student in the Department of Computer Science supplied some stranger-in-a-strange-land sensations for suburban Koronkiewicz, who soon declared a
Read moreElementary Education alumna receives Fulbright award to teach in Luxembourg
“Hi Dr. Cohen,” the email begins. “I am SO EXCITED to tell you that I have been selected as a Fulbright Luxembourg English Teaching Assistant for the 2024-2025 school year!! I’M TEACHING IN EUROPE!!!” The message came to James Cohen from Kristal
Read moreNIU, RPS, Grow Your Own Illinois ‘RISE’ together to equip RPS 205 employees as licensed elementary education teachers
More than two dozen future teachers who already work for the Rockford Public Schools in support roles are now on their way to employer-paid bachelor’s degrees in Elementary Education from Northern Illinois University. Among their champions is Grow Your Own Illinois, the
Read morePLEDGE-ECC cheers fourth ElEd cohort, celebrates Early Childhood trailblazers
Ask Ania Tyrka why she wants to become a teacher, and she immediately smiles and points right at 10-year-old Anthony. “This little guy – my son,” said Tyrka, a “mom, homemaker and wife” who also credits 12-year-old daughter, Zosia, for the decision
Read moreDouble-alumna Jessica Lombard named first female superintendent: Huntley 158
Jessica Lombard graduated from Huntley High School in 1990, when the superintendent of District 158 was – as had always been the case since its creation in 1920 – a man. On her return to Huntley in 2002 to become assistant principal
Read morePhoto Gallery: New Teacher Send-off
The NIU College of Education recognized spring graduates of licensure programs May 12 during the New Teacher Send-off event in Cavan Auditorium. NIU alumna Kimberly Radostits, the 2022 Illinois Teacher of the Year and a 2023 National Teacher of the Year finalist,
Read moreNIU PLEDGE, Elgin Community College add 18 elementary teachers to pipeline
The numbers tell an amazing story. Eighteen B.S.Ed. in Elementary Education majors started the third cohort of the College of Education’s PLEDGE (Partnering to Lead and Empower District-Grown Educators) program with Elgin Community College in the fall semester of 2021. All 18
Read moreMultiple voices, perspectives fuel work of Student Academic Equity Committee
Sherry Franklin knows that more people like her are needed. Franklin, an Educator Effectiveness specialist with the Chicago Public Schools and a part-time instructor at Malcolm X College, is Black. And, for that reason, the doctoral student in the Department of Curriculum
Read moreElementary Education alumni selected as Chicago-area Golden Apple finalists
Erin Odle has always loved working with children. Piotr Wojciaczyk drew inspiration from a high school music teacher. Dominique Yackley discovered her ambition from within after she left high school as a sophomore. Connecting the three NIU College of Education alumni, all
Read moreCOE alumna Miranda Thompson wins Rockford-area 2023 Golden Apple award
Miranda Thompson is a Golden Apple winner. Thompson, who earned her B.S.Ed. in Elementary Education in 2006, was among six winners named March 9 during surprise ceremonies in their Rockford-area classrooms. She also was among eight finalists with NIU College of Education
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