A teacher. A classroom paraprofessional. A principal. A school district administrator. The four were among the close to 100 educators, including counselors and social workers, who came to the NIU College of Education to attend the Summer Camp for Responsive Education. Eunice
Read moreDouble-alumna Noemi Hernandez earns Kane County Educator of the Year award
Why does Noemi Hernandez teach? “The real reason? I’m just bossy,” laughs the double-alumna of the NIU College of Education, “so it naturally comes. I remember always helping my siblings with school, and I remember always thinking that if I could be
Read moreNIU PLEDGE-Elgin Community College graduates learn of their power, mission in the nurture of thriving communities
Nicole Morys knows what kind of teacher she will become this fall. “I want to teach because I want to inspire kids to grow and to be the best version of themselves, and also to just make my teaching environment comfortable for
Read moreU-46 administrators share stories, take questions from aspiring superintendents
Members of the School District U-46 leadership team were front and center Sept. 30 for the latest Aspiring Superintendents Forum. Launched in 2021 by NIU Department of Leadership, Educational Psychology and Foundations Associate Professor Ben Creed and Clinical Assistant Professor Lynn Gibson,
Read morePLEDGE-ECC celebrates new graduates, program’s alumni roster surpasses 100
Olivia Warren had never really considered becoming a teacher. A part-time job as an elementary school cafeteria/recess aide changed that. “I was interested in going into social work because I really like the mental health aspect,” Warren says. “Then, I started working
Read moreSummer campers attain purpose, motivation, ideas, camaraderie
After two years as a Social and Emotional Learning coach in Indian Prairie School District 204, Geraldine Troczynski is returning to the classroom this fall to teach eighth-grade English language arts and social studies. Going with her is a fresh immersion in
Read moreSummer Camp counselors savor opportunities to reflect, rejuvenate
James Cohen remembers well the closing moments of the first Social Justice Summer Camp for Educators in 2017. The plan for the future, as announced by Cohen and his fellow camp counselors from the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, was to host
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 moreAlumna Cindie Cortinas-Vogt celebrates state, national teaching awards in 2023
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
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