EASTERN HANCOCK — Students at Eastern Hancock High School who are interested in the field of teaching are getting a chance to go into the classroom as potential future educators. They’re also getting a real opportunity to find out what goes behind being a teacher, all while earning college credit.
Administrators at Eastern Hancock are the latest in the county to make a real commitment to help educate would-be teachers with the hope of getting them back to their district as educators as soon as possible.
Officials from Eastern Hancock are committed to offering educational focused college classes for students interested in teaching thanks to a new partnership with Marian University where students can earn credits toward a college degree in education.
District officials say so far they’re offering three different early college educational classes “Teacher Prep” classes to students who are interested in teaching, giving them a real introduction to the field of education and a head start in college.
High school students who take the courses while at Eastern Hancock are getting a chance to go into the classroom, observe and even help teachers in every aspect of the classroom.
“The classes are a great way for us to grow our own future educators,” Eastern Hancock principal Adam Barton said.
Barton noted it was important for administrators to help find a way to support their students with any of their options after Eastern Hancock and that “Teacher Prep” classes is just another way to help kids get a head start on a college degree.
“We should be really good at training future teachers because we have years of experience in education,” Barton said.
The district has tasked educator Ashley VanDuyn with helping coordinate the “Teacher Prep” classes. As the facilitator, she works with students who might be interested in the field of education and gets them signed up for the classes and makes sure they follow the dual credit guidelines.
VanDuyn is working with at least 15 students so far who have a chance to earn up to three college credits this semester. That’s a good start, she said, to get the program rolling and to introduce the foundations of teaching to students who are serious about the profession.
“It’s definitely centered on the different aspects of teaching, professionalism and getting into strategies and things like that,” VanDuyn said. “We want them to know what it’s like to be a teacher before they go to college.”
VanDuyn recalled her time in college and said once students get into college they really don’t get to spend as much time as they’d like inside the classroom teaching. The new classes they’re offering allows students an opportunity to do that now to see exactly what teachers really do and if the field of education is something they too might want to venture into.
“The more time they can spend in the classroom now, they can ask themselves, ‘is this really what I want to do in the future,’” VanDuyn said.
Superintendent George Philhower noted VanDuyn’s experience at the high school level as a choir teacher and as a former fourth grade elementary school teacher gives her the chance to provide the students with a head start in any educational career they might be interested in.
“She’s seen the spectrum of teaching,” Philhower said. “Our whole goal is that the students have a real work-based learning experience here.”
Philhower noted while it’s their first year to offer this type of dual-credit educational opportunity for students through Marion University, he thinks they’re off to a good start in recruiting future teachers.
“It will be our first year to offer this and we’re not sure how it’s all going to go, but we’re very excited about it,” he said. “We too feel it is our responsibility to help grow our future educators.”
Officials at EH plan to use grant monies so students will not have to pay for the college credit classes.
