Superintendent John White Visits Lincoln Parish and the Louisiana Tech TEAM

Louisiana Tech's TEAM Model Clinical Residency Program in Lincoln  Parish elementary schools received a state visit today from Louisiana  Believe and Prepare officials, Julie Stephenson and Rebecca Freeland.  At Cypress Springs Elementary, Lead Mentor Teacher, Michelle Chauvin,  modeled the TEAM evaluation system with intern, Laura Davidson. At  Glen View Elementary, mentor teacher Candice Cole co-taught  mathematics using the parallel teaching strategy with intern, Destiny  Maxwell, and Glen View interns were interviewed. After school, school  team interviews continued at Ruston Elementary with a surprise visit  from Louisiana State Superintendent, John White.

White praised the continuous strength of the university district  partnership in this clinical residency program and gave the TEAM  members a chance to share their reflections on the experience.  According to Program Co-Director, Dr. Amy Vessel, "The success we are  seeing in the TEAM model is a testament to every single team member of  our model from the principal to the district leader to the university  leader to the intern. However, the true key to the clinical residency  program success continues to be the mentor teacher."

Louisiana Tech's College of Education and Lincoln Parish School Board  began the first pilot of a full-year student teaching program with 11  volunteers during the 2014-2015 academic year. This year, 14 interns  are placed in three local elementary schools. This national and state  trend toward longer clinical experiences will have effects extending  to university initial certification program, teacher-to-student ratios  in the classrooms, and ultimately impacts on student success. In  August 2015, the Clinical Residency Research Center was established in  Woodard Hall to conduct such studies. Through additional grants, new  mentor teams have been identified, and training is extending beyond  Lincoln Parish to Ouachita, Claiborne, and Union Parishes this spring.

This blog entry was submitted by Dr. Amy Vessel, Acting Director for the CRRC. You can contact Dr. Vessel at avessel@latech.edu for more information.

Pictured above are John White, Julie  Stephenson, Rebecca Freeland,  Dr. Amy Vessel,  Dr. Dawn Basinger,  Dr. Don Schillinger, Dr. Bryan McCoy, Kay Bradford, Mike  Milstead,  Sherry Boyd, E Lisa  Mangum, District Clinical Liaison, Amy Brister, Mandy  Brown, Jasmine Hall-Archangel,  Lisa Allen, Belinda Birch, Jillian  McAlpin, Maryanne Smith, Evelyn Skinner, Dana  Reno, Mary  Riggs, and Sarah Sullivan

State Superintendent of Schools John White Inspired by Tech - Lincoln Parish Partnership

College Of Education professors Carrice Cummins, Libby Manning, and Kim Kimbell-Lopez selected fifteen COE students to volunteer in a year-long mentor pilot program funded through the Believe and Prepare grant to provide an immersive real school setting environment in state-of-the-art facilities. Also included in this initiative are Don Schillinger and Dawn Bassinger.  Kyndal Cawthon, a senior education major said in The Ruston Daily Leader, “I have to see something to learn it and in this way I’m able to apply it.” This program helps to provide our student teachers with real-world experience in partnership with Glen View Elementary and CSE with additional Lincoln Parish school partnerships to follow in 2015.

State Superintendent of Schools John White said in the Ruston Daily Leader about his trip to Glen View Elementary School, he always looks forward to discovering something “inspiring, innovative, and new” within the folds of the Lincoln Parish education system. He went on to say “I think Tech and Lincoln Parish have a particularly unique synergy that doesn’t exist statewide.” Through Believe and Prepare we are not only trying to ensure Common Core standards are being taught efficiently in the classroom but to ensure newly-graduated teachers are confident and effective on the first day of school through application of avant-garde teaching techniques and encouraging student teachers to take a more proactive role than what was traditionally expected of them.