Rockford Public Schools – NIU College of Education

Principal Residency Program creates model for development of school leaders

September 28, 2020 Mark McGowan enewsletter, LEPF

Growing up in Rockford, Amber Lee-Black found a home – and a life’s direction – on the basketball courts. “I didn’t want to go to work every day dreading going to work,” said Lee-Black, who played hoops for Auburn High School, Highland

College of Education, RPS 205 launch Rockford Principal Residency Program

August 19, 2020 Mark McGowan enewsletter, External and Global Programs, Graduate Programs, LEPF

The Northern Illinois University College of Education and Rockford Public Schools will launch this fall an innovative partnership to develop school leaders to serve the needs of Rockford-area schools. This cohort-based program is designed to improve academic and social-emotional learning outcomes from

Educational Administration alumni lead school districts through COVID-19 crisis

June 6, 2020 Mark McGowan enewsletter, LEPF

Brian Harris, M.S.Ed. ’91, Ph.D. ’01, had visited the bustling cafeteria of Barrington High School many times before. He had never regarded it the way he did March 12, however, through the social-distancing lens of COVID-19. “We have 650 kids eating lunch

May 2019 alumna Hanna Fewell receives NIU Career Services intern scholarship

May 3, 2020 Mark McGowan enewsletter, SEED

Special Education major Hanna Fewell received an unexpected welcome at Kingston Elementary School, where she began her student-teaching in the spring of 2019. “My teacher was kind of overwhelmed, and on the first day I walked in, she was like, ‘Surprise! You’re

Seven Golden Apple of Rockford finalists share NIU College of Education heritage

February 5, 2020 Mark McGowan CI, enewsletter, SEED

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

First-year high school principal builds strong foundation with NIU preparation

January 22, 2020 Mark McGowan Alumni, enewsletter, LEPF

During the six years Matthew Bennett and his wife, Erin, spent teaching school in Nevada, he realized his professional future might lie outside the classroom. “We just had a lot of turnover in the administrative ranks,” Bennett says. “I thought, ‘There’s got

Ace! College of Ed licensure students nail 100 percent passage on Spring 2019 edTPA

August 27, 2019 Mark McGowan enewsletter, SEED

Anna Morrison loves interactions with children. “Being around them brings a lot of joy into my life – just with certain things kids say, and the way they act, they’re a lot of fun,” says Morrison, a May 2019 graduate of the

NIU to improve math content knowledge for teachers from Rockford, Sauk Valley

March 26, 2019 Mark McGowan CI, enewsletter, ETRA

Northern Illinois University has received a $1.6 million grant from the Illinois State Board of Education to provide professional development in math pedagogy to 160 teachers from Rockford and the Sauk Valley area. Grant dollars also will fund the development of online

Rockford sixth-graders help Hsu study makerspaces, scientific argumentation

March 13, 2019 Mark McGowan enewsletter, ETRA

Six sixth-graders at Rockford Environmental Science Academy are exploring Next Generation Science Standards – and having a blast at the same time. Pi-Sui Hsu, an associate professor in the Department of Educational Technology, Research and Assessment, is making weekly travels to Rockford