Rollins College Dept. of Education
Spring 2023 Newsletter - Volume 3
Mission
The Department of Education is committed to the preparation of outstanding teachers who are firmly grounded in the liberal arts tradition and have demonstrated the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to excel as educators in schools around the world.
Preservice Teachers in Action
Riley Steege is seen here demonstrating strong classroom management protocols with her 4th grade students at Lakemont Elementary. She supports positive student engagement by preparing students for group work through explicitly reviewing group work norms. Riley pulls together her theatre performance skills and strong pedagogy to elicit joy and excitement for learning from her students!
Alejandra Arias works with her 3rd grade students at Sterling Park Elementary School during their gallery walk experience, as they practice writing group summaries of expository texts. In this activity, students take a section of a text and use what they’ve learned to write model text summaries. Once they’re finished, they post their work around the room for their classmates to review. Students expressed their learning through their lively conversations and excitement to share their work.
Congratulations to Sarah Skala - 2023 Valedictorian
Rollins Students Celebrate the Lunar New Year with a Dragon Dance
To celebrate the lunar new year in 2023, the Year of Rabbit, the Asian Studies Program at Rollins hosted a series of events on campus on Thursday, January 26 starting with a dragon dance paraded around the campus by students from Chinese language courses, “EDU 280: Diversity in American Education,” and “rFLA 200: Identity, School, & Culture.” According to the spring festival tradition observed by many East Asians especially Chinese, the dragon dance is a beloved celebration that supposes to drive away evil spirits and usher in good luck and blessings for the community. Wherever the dragon visited – the Olin Library, K. W. Rollins Hall, Mills lawn, Bush Science Center, or Cornell Social Science Building – it brought big smiles to members of the Rollins community.
Dikshya Nepal: “I carried the mythical ‘Pearl of Wisdom’ for the dragon to follow in the dance representing the dragon's pursuit of knowledge, wisdom, and the truth. I was delighted that so many people were shooting us and enjoying the dragon. The best parts for me were the weather, the music, the dragon dance, and seeing people come and appreciate our performances.”
Hollie Tweedie: “I was at the front dancing with the head of the dragon, on my college campus and in the bright sunshine! I received a lot of messages, from my friends on campus about how happy it made them, to see us all dance around in celebration of a culture, the New Year and positivity.”
Mary Fulton: “I was born in the year 2000 which is the year of the dragon in the zodiac so I felt like I owed it to the dragon to help the dance. It was such a new experience to operate a giant puppet in conjunction with other students who I had never met before that moment. There was such a high level of cooperation and it was a really positive experience. By the end of the performance my cheeks were hurting from smiling the entire time we were using the dragon.”
Book Reviews
2023 Notable Books for a Global Society Book Reviews
2023 Notable Books for a Global Society (NBGS)
Annually, a committee of the CL/R SIG (Children’s Literature and Reading Special Interest Group) of the International Literacy Association selects 25 outstanding trade books for enhancing student understanding of people and cultures throughout the world. The committee reviews books representing all genres intended for students K-12. More information about NBGS can be found at http://www.clrsig.org/nbgs.html. Past and present NBGS book lists are available at http://www.clrsig.org/nbgs-lists.html.
Shanahan on Literacy Blog
“It Works” and Other Myths of the Science of Reading Era
Recently, I wrote about the science of reading. I explained how I thought the term should be defined and described the kind of research needed to prescribe instruction.
Today I thought I’d put some meat on the bone; adding some details that might help readers to grasp the implications of a scientific or research-based approach to reading.
What does it mean when someone says an approach to reading instruction “works”?
The term “it works” has gnawed at me for more than fifty years! I remember as a teacher how certain activities or approaches grabbed me. They just seemed right. Then I’d try them out in my classroom and judge some to work, and others not so much. But why? For the full blog, click here.
Pathways to Teaching
Shoutout
Diamarie Diaz, from cohort 4 was recently celebrated at Colonial High School. She shares, “I received a shoutout this week for my work with 10th, 11th, and 12th grade students. This is an anonymous activity for staff and faulty to show their appreciation to a specific person including a comment expressing their appreciation. Thank you for allowing me to share this celebration with you.”
Support Person of the Year (SPOY)
Following the 2023 OCPS Stellar Awards, we are honored to feature four paraprofessionals who are currently apart of the Pathways to Teaching Program here at Rollins College. These four paraprofessionals were recognized by their schools as Support Person of the Year for the 2022-23 school year. These students are Alex Rodriguez (Cohort 4), Alayah Farley (Cohort 3), Aisha Barber (Cohort 2), and Samira Flagg (Cohort 4). In addition to being chosen for their schools Support Person of the Year, Alex Rodriguez was also chosen as the Support Person of the Year Stellar Award winner for all of OCPS for the 2022-23 school year!! We are very proud of these students for their achievements and congratulate them on all of their accomplishments with OCPS and here at Rollins.
We were able to speak with these students and get their thoughts on being recognized as SPOY, some next steps for them, and how they are feeling after the 2023 Stellar Awards. Below are their statements:
Alex Rodriguez (Cohort 4): “When I was chosen as the SPOY for my school (Vista Pointe Elementary), I was completely shocked and honored that my colleagues recognized my hard work. Being OCPS's Winner for Support Person of the Year meant so much to me as I am a product of the hard-working individuals that have helped and molded me into being a hard-working professional. My next step at work is to keep being driven and helping others when possible. The staff I work with gives me endless opportunities for professional development. Another step for me is to head to the state level to represent Orange County Public Schools and possibly become the Florida State Support Person of the Year! My goal is to graduate Rollins and become a teacher and eventually move up the ranks and aid as an administrator.”
Samira Flagg (Cohort 4): “For me, winning SPOY for my school felt really AMAZING! I felt so seen and appreciated the moment when I heard my name announced. It’s a feeling I do not think I will ever forget. Attending the Stellar Awards earlier this month is definitely a core memory for me for sure. I’m so glad my mom was able to experience it with me and seeing my friend, Alex win SPOY for the county was magical! My next steps are to keep going and get my degree in elementary education from Rollins. I am excited to use my degree to make an impact both inside and outside of the classroom. I can’t believe my cohort and I are almost done with our first year here at Rollins. Time is flying and there is so much still to learn, explore and get involved in here on campus.”
Alayah Farley (Cohort 3): “Being nominated as Support Person of the Year by my colleagues was a great and unexpected honor. I work with a wonderful team, and I have an incredibly strong support system. Working hard and staying focused on my goals makes me a better person each day. I work hard to make my family proud, but I strive to make myself proud as well. Being a student at Rollins enriches my aspirations of being an educator to help mold the minds of the young children that will someday run the world.”
Once again, a huge congratulations to these students and we are very proud of all our pathways program students and all of their hard work!
Recent news
Department of Education
Inspiration Station
The roll of honor speaks for itself as students and teachers celebrated the 100th day of school with pomp and style during Literacy Week. PTA was dragontastic as they treated Magic Makers with breakfast for Valentine’s Day. Teachers set the stage for students’ success by adding fun to their learning. House meetings were exciting. Respect for the young dragons is at the heart of VPE. At house meetings, Dragons learned about leadership, skills, and gratitude.
It has been an exciting opportunity to be a Rollins intern at VPE school. When I was placed here, I knew I was onto something. I became extremely enthusiastic to not only use my skills inside the classroom, but outside of course work as well.
I made paper dresses for fashion show contenders. There was a winner from my kindergarten class. As she walked down the runway smiling, my heart swelled with pride.
Newsletter Contributors
Special thanks to Megan Travis, Sita Maharaj, and Talia Viera for their contributions to the newsletter.