W-B Area program lets students become teachers

Jun. 3—PLAINS TWP. — Ingrid wasn't sure if she wanted to teach, now she is.

Johana thought she did want to teach, now she knows it's not her first choice.

Bianka found English Language Learners starved for someone they could talk to in their native tongue.

Rocco was surprised at the paperwork teachers must do.

And Gabby conceded getting a chance to actually help teach in different schools while finishing her senior year at Wilkes-Barre Area High School made her "feel bad for the teachers" she has taken for granted as a student.

Nine students who participated in Wilkes-Barre Area School District's first "Education Experience Program" offered a lot of positive feedback from their experience. The district designed the program to encourage high school seniors to consider entering the education field, and in turn to potentially produce a future pool of teachers for the area.

Students get to be in classrooms in district schools with different grade levels and groups of students, including special education, English Language Learners, and elementary, middle and high school grades. Thanks to generous cooperation from Luzerne County's four-year institutions of higher learning — Wilkes University, King's College and Misericordia University — they also get to take some college courses on education, receive counseling and get free academic materials.

While Superintendent Brian Costello and assistant to the superintendent Rochelle Koury-Speier gave some highlights of the new program during a gathering of area educators, they opted to let the participating high school students do much of the morning presentation.

That was a smart move. Articulate and frequently flashing big, unforced smiles, they gave the program a lot of positive feedback.

"Sitting with little kids just warmed my heart," Bianka Avila said.

"Before this my day was just boring," Ingrid Thwaites admitted, "I loved all grades."

"Putting all of these experiences together really helped me a lot," Martheen Beauvais said.

"The teachers are wonderful," Johana Guaman Barbecho said, "I thought I wanted to go directly into teaching. This helped me decide to go into nursing first.

"I loved working with the kids," Abigail Rolon gushed, "all the kids."

"I always wanted to get into education," Gabrielle "Gabby" Gottlieb said, but until this experience, "I was not sure of the ages I wanted t0 work with."

Rocco Bellio was the lone male in the program, reflecting the reality that teachers — particularly at the elementary grades — still tend to be women. Along with surprise during the first week at the paperwork teachers had to do, he came to realize how important an often overlooked factor of education can be. "You have to make sure the students have proper transportation"

Superintendent Brian Costello said the new program holds high promise for the district as well, thanks in no small part to the diversity of students who participated. Area districts, including Wilkes-Barre Area, have long struggled to get teaching staffs that are more representative of the students. "I couldn't be more ecstatic that this may be a representation of our future faculty."

Wilkes-Barre Area had arranged the presentation in April partly to give other area districts a sample of what the "Education Experience" seems to accomplish. Several officials from other districts voiced enthusiasm for the idea, and at least one decided to adopt it.

During the May meeting of the Greater Nanticoke Area School board, Superintendent Ron Grevera announced his district will introduce a similar program this fall. This week he offered an update on the progress.

"We are implementing our Future Educators Program for the 2023-2024 school year. We have five students who will be seniors next year who have been accepted into the program. The students accepted had to maintain good grades and good behavior throughout high school and had to have a minimum overall average of 90% or higher," Grevera said via email.

"The students were required to write an essay on why they believe they want to be a teacher. The five students will have an opportunity to take dual enrollment education courses for free or at a discounted rate from Misericordia University, King's College, and/or Wilkes University.

"Students will have an opportunity to work each quarter with a cooperating teacher in the areas of early childhood education, special education, middle level education and high school. Each quarter they must rotate in each of these areas to see the area that is a best fit for them upon graduation. The idea is to "grow our own" teachers because the numbers of students in education has drastically declined in the commonwealth over the last 10 years. If an opening occurs upon graduation from college, they may find themselves teaching at their alma mater!"

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Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish