Elkins – Davis & Elkins College education students have begun the second phase of their student teaching experience. The students recently completed seven weeks of taking the lead in Randolph and Tucker County classrooms and are now taking on assignments in different classrooms to complete their training during the spring semester.
Prior to working in the classrooms as student teachers, the students spent more than 120 hours in K-12 classrooms observing, co-teaching, co-planning, tutoring and learning to teach to prepare them for their semester-long student teaching placement.
“With the help of our Professional Development School liaisons and school administrators, we pair our students with excellent classroom teachers who serve as mentors and help our students learn to take over classroom responsibilities,” said Davis & Elkins College Associate Professor of Education Dr. Jennifer Tesar, who also serves as field placement coordinator for teacher education.
Students working under the mentorship of co-operating teachers are: Whitney Timbrook of Fisher, West Virginia, assigned to Andy Thorne in Upshur County; Grayson Blythe of Wooster, Ohio, assigned to Adam Roth and Matthew Postlethwait at Tygarts Valley Middle and High School; Kelsey Arbogast of Beverly, West Virginia, assigned to Mandy Belan at Midland Elementary School; Hannah Evans of Kerens, West Virginia, assigned to Kelly Underwood at Tucker Valley Elementary Middle School; Tina Wulin of Faber, Virginia, assigned to Stacie Friddle at Third Ward Elementary School; Allie Lapollo of Richmond, Virginia, assigned to Beth Cooper at Midland Elementary; Tori Louk of Mill Creek, West Virginia, assigned to Rich Leitner at Elkins Middle School; and Meaghan Eyler of Keyser, West Virginia, assigned to Madeline Ross at Elkins High School.
Sarah Gustafson of Bridgeport, West Virginia, will continue in a teacher-in-residence program in math at Elkins High School. The intensively supervised and mentored residency program for prospective teachers during their senior year refines their professional practice skills and helps them gain the teaching experience needed to demonstrate competence as a prerequisite to certification to teach in West Virginia public schools.
The Davis & Elkins College Teacher Education Program prepares competent, caring and qualified teachers for schools in Appalachia and in national and global communities. Students seeking certification in elementary education grades K-6 undertake a major in elementary education, which leads to the awarding of a Bachelor of Arts degree. A student seeking certification in a content specialization (grades 5-9, and/or 9-adult) must declare a major outside of education with a declared minor in education.
Related to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Davis & Elkins College is located in Elkins, 2 hours east of Charleston, 3 hours south of Pittsburgh and 4 hours west of Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit the College website at www.dewv.edu or call 304-637-1243.
