Andria Williams stepped behind the podium, smiled and raised a victorious fist in the air. “We did it, y’all!” The new graduate of the NIU College of Education’s LEAP (Licensed Educator Accelerated Pathway) program with the Rockford Public Schools served as the
Read moreMicro-moments, major impact: Summit shows teachers how to instill resilience
Ariella Cole hasn’t started teaching yet. Cole is among the 20 paraeducators currently pursuing NIU bachelor’s degrees in Elementary Education through the RISE (Rockford Inspiring School and Community Excellence) initiative. But she’s a behavioral intervention specialist who already works in District 205
Read moreSweet! COE alumna Lisa Robinson wins Rockford-area 2025 Golden Apple award
Lisa Robinson, kindergarten teacher at Rolling Green Elementary School, has been a Golden Apple finalist before. And now Robinson, who earned a B.S.Ed. in Special Education: Deaf and Hard of Hearing in 2004, is a winner. “Being recognized as a Top 20
Read moreBuilding bridges: RISE to revolutionize teaching, learning in Rockford schools by engaging community, valuing voices
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 moreNo ‘lion’: Double-alumna multiplies impact in visual disabilities, deafness
When Lisa Borgo started taking babysitter jobs at age 11 or 12, she already was looking forward to Dundee Crown High School’s classes in cooking, sewing and, best of all, child care. Bonus: District 300’s deLacey Family Education Center “was right next
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 moreRPS 205’s Daniela Boer finds belonging, representation via NIU principal prep
When Daniela Boer was asked where she wanted to intern as a principal-candidate while in NIU’s M.S.Ed. in Educational Administration program, she had no hesitation. Lathrop Elementary School. Boer, then a bilingual teacher at the nearby Rockford Environmental Science Academy, saw great
Read moreWarmth of the Sun: Pi-Sui Hsu enables Rockford students to build solar ‘cars’
What provides the key to driving solar-powered model cars to the finish line? Observations and questions, apparently. At least that was the case for a dozen Rockford middle-schoolers who spent a week with Pi-Sui Hsu this June. “The purpose of the summer
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