Cindie Cortinas-Vogt arrived late to the college game. She was 22, maybe, and all of her friends from high school already had graduated. While they all had apparently felt certain enough to enroll and select their majors as teenagers, Cortinas-Vogt had not.
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 moreU-46’s first principal prep cohort nears August completion of master’s degrees
When Gladys Crespo graduated from high school in her native Puerto Rico, she planned to become an engineer. That was her initial path in college as well, but it didn’t last. “I ended up teaching other students what they needed to do,
Read morePhotos: Educators Rising
NIU hosted 216 students contemplating careers as educators for the Oct. 19 Educators Rising Mini-Conference. Dean Laurie Elish-Piper welcomed the students to the Carl Sandburg Auditorium, where she introduced keynote speaker Kimberly Radostits, the 2022 Illinois Teacher of the Year. Students also
Read moreUruguayan teachers visit NIU, nearby schools to gather ideas for improvement
After two weeks of visiting schools in DeKalb, Rochelle and the Chicago suburbs, 20 teachers from Uruguay made their way to Rockford. Their destination – Lincoln Middle School, opened in 1927 and located adjacent to the city’s historic Midtown District – provided
Read moreEducators Rising conference encourages future teachers to join, enrich profession
Seventy-five high school students seriously contemplating careers as teachers gained powerful motivation May 25 during the Northern Kane Educators Rising Conference at NIU. Laurie Elish-Piper, dean of the NIU College of Education, made sure of it. Teachers, she told the teens gathered
Read moreReady to teach: Second PLEDGE cohort celebrates ECC-NIU education degrees
Michael Brady’s motivation appeared when he was in sixth-grade – in the form of a male teacher. For Jocelynne Escontrias, the role models in those School District U-46 classrooms shared her culture: “It was just great to see people lead by example
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 moreU-46 paraprofessionals ‘leap’ to begin journey to Special Education degrees
Thirty-five paraprofessionals from School District U-46 have begun their employer-paid pursuit of NIU bachelor’s degrees in Special Education. Part of the College of Education’s PLEDGE-Partnering to Lead and Empower District-Grown Educators initiative, the new Licensed Educator Accelerated Pathway (LEAP) program provides a
Read morePaul Wright, colleagues team with U-46 to coach P.E. teachers in SEL strategies
Paul Wright believes in the affirming power of promoting social and emotional learning (SEL) through sport and other physical activities to position students on better paths toward success. Sure enough, it’s the major focus of the Physical Activity and Life Skills (PALS)
Read moreRockford Principal Prep program adds six Elgin U-46 candidates to new cohort
One year after the NIU College of Education launched an innovative program in principal preparation for the Rockford Public Schools, a second cohort has begun. This fall, the new group includes six aspiring administrators from School District U-46. Ryan Corcoran, Huff Elementary
Read moreTrailblazers: NIU, ECC salute first cohort of Elementary Ed graduates via PLEDGE
Fifteen newly minted teachers are ready to return to the school districts where they grew up and, thanks to a partnership between Elgin Community College and Northern Illinois University, never really left. The students completed their first two years at ECC and
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