Teacher Education/Special Education Latest News
A couple of reminders from Meredith Lopez, UCTE Academic Advisor
Important Summer 2011 Registration Information
Registration for summer classes begins March 8, 2011. At this time we are still working on getting SEHD summer courses posted to UCDAccess and these should be accessible in the near future.
Deposit Refunds
If you are in your final semester of internships this Spring, your $250 deposit will be refunded to you the middle of April. Please look for emails from Rachel.
Switch Week
If you are completing UEDU 4/5931 and 4/5932, you will switch to your second internship March 14th.
Spring Initial Licensure/Endorsement Completers
To start your initial licensure application process, use this link to the CDE application wizard to begin online process for your applications. Anyone completing added endorsement paperwork will still use the downloadable option at Request Application (Based on Approved Program).
Remember-all grades must be complete and listed on transcript before you can start the application process. Grades tentatively will be posted May 25, 2011.
• Graduate teacher education students submit their paperwork to Meredith Lopez. CLAS Undergraduate students will submit their licensure paperwork for institutional recommendation to Stephanie Hamington.
• If you need a confirmation letter for employment while waiting for your licensure paperwork to process, please email me your request with details and how you would like the letter delivered or held for pick up.
• Please note, if an incomplete has been taken in any licensure course (SAPS for example) the grade must be posted for the incomplete course. All prerequisite courses must be completed and you must have passed the PLACE or PRAXIS II tests.
• You can make a request for UCD transcripts to be mailed to your home once grades are posted via UCDAccess or pick them up from the Bursar’s office for a fee. Graduate students will also need to include a copy of undergraduate transcripts-we have an extra copy of your transcripts in your file if needed.
Teacher Education Job Fairs
Please see job fair information listed in this NewsFeed under Job/Volunteer opportunities! Also please visit www.teachincolorado.org for the most current listing of Colorado’s educational positions.
UCD Career Center
If you are getting ready to search for education jobs this spring, there’s no better time than to utilize the UCD Career Center for job search strategies, resume & cover letter tips, how to target employees, and online job hunting advice.
Quick Tip Hours for Spring 2011:
Monday & Thursday
3:30pm-4:45pm
Tuesday and Wednesday
12:30pm-1:45pm
Office Hours:
Monday-Friday 8am-5pm
303.556.2250 phone / 303.556.4728 fax
Email : careercenter@ucdenver.edu
Master Options for Graduate/Undergraduate Licensure Completers
All teacher education graduate licensure completers who are going on to complete a masters option are required to complete an MA Option Selection Sheet indicating the MA Option that will be pursued and the term starting the MA Option. Please turn this form into the SSC office. For a complete list of IPTE MA Option course requirements, click here. We encourage you to contact the faculty advisor listed on the options sheet for more information and sequencing of courses.
Undergraduates-if you wish to apply for our masters programs, please contact Lindsay Austin, SEHD admissions counselor (303-315-6300), for more information and details.
AmeriCorps Information Sessions
Count your time in the classroom and at your internship site. Receive stipend money for giving back to the community through the Teacher Education Program! Find out more about this program at scheduled information sessions. Please look for an email from Ms. Willie Brown with more information and location.
TC Student Spotlight
New Hires!
Lindsay Craddock got a job at Cornel School in Taychung, Taiwan.
Sarah Mathis got a job in Bangkok, Thailand.
Marissa Beard (formerly Saunders) got a job offer in Fort Collins coaching track and then a grade level next year Kaiman Triplett practiced social justice. She also wrote to Walgreens for supplies for her TWS unit and got free camera and camera development.
Congratulations! These students exemplfy what is amazing about our program
~Cheryl E. Matias, Ph. D., UCTE Faculty
Chelsea Espinosa
“I decided in third grade that I wanted to be a teacher. During my internships, I’ve learned that this is what I’m meant to do.” All of us who have had the good fortune to work with Chelsea Espinosa at Rose Hill agree that she is a natural-born teacher. She literally lights up when she sees her first graders and they clearly glow and grow in the warm, nurturing, learning environment she provides. She is deeply committed to her students and to creating a safe and strong classroom community.
During each of her internships, Chelsea has worked hard to meet the varying needs of her students and and make sure they are each learning and that they are each understanding the material. She reconizes what a challenge this is, “So many of my students are on different learning paths, and it’s a daily struggle to make sure their paths have a common meeting place for any given lesson.”
Chelsea is ardent about making sure that students get their voices heard in the classroom. “Kids, especially the little ones, love to talk and they tell the best stories. When they make a connection to what is being taught, I know that they are understanding what they’re learning. It’s a special moment and I’m so lucky to experience it!”
And Chelsea’s students are lucky, indeed, that she is a Teacher Candidate in their classroom! As she looks forward to her first year of teaching and having her own classroom, she is quite clear about her goals, “I want to establish a safe learning environment in which kids can learn and excel. I want kids to love learning! If I can instil this in my students each and every year, I will be fulfilled as a teacher!” We at Rose Hill have no doubt that Chelsea Espinosa will be highly successful in achieving her goals as a teacher.
~Carol Younghans, Site Professor, Rose Hill Elementary School, Adams #14
Simon Thomsen
UCAN Serve AmeriCorps and the School of Education is pleased to announce that the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U), has selected Mr. Simon Thomsen, one of our UCTE Teacher Candidates placed at Montbello High School, to attend the fourth Annual Meeting which will be held at the University of California, San Diego from April 1st – 3rd, 2011. As a prerequisite of attending the CGI U meeting, students and youth organization directors were asked to develop their own Commitments to Action: a specific plan of action that addresses a pressing challenge on their campus, in their community, or in a different part of the world, and a letter of Recommendation from that student’s AmeriCorps Coordinator. Mr. Thomsen was selected in part because of the strength of his Commitment to Action Plan. At the meeting, he will gain skills necessary to complete this “Commitment,” such as community partner development, fund raising, etc. After the meeting, they will also have access to support and guidance from CGI U staff.
Through the generous support of our Regional UCAN Serve AmeriCorps office, Mr. Thomsen’s expenses will be covered, so he may more completely enjoy his Conference experience.
The Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) Annual Meeting is a meeting for students and national youth organizations to discuss solutions to pressing global issues. At this meeting, nearly 1,200 attendees will come together to make a difference in CGI U’s five Focus Areas: Education, Environment & Climate Change, Peace & Human Rights, Poverty Alleviation, and Public Health.
Congratulations Mr. Thomsen!!
~Willie Brown, AmeriCorps Coordinator
PDS Spotlight
Feed a student. Feed a school. Feed a community. Leave your legacy.
South Middle School is a Title 1 School with a high student rate of free and reduced breakfast and lunches.
It is a struggle and constant concern for parents and guardians to provide enough nutritious food for their children. As future teachers, South Teacher Candidates know they cannot be expected to resolve all the situations they encounter. In this particular circumstance, though, they were aware of certain community resources that provide assistance for students’ families.
Even before the topic of a Legacy Project was discussed during a recent community-building seminar, the Teacher Candidates at South Middle School began a project to provide food to some of the school’s families.
Initiated by TC Anthony Bradley, the TCs met with the school’s Family Liaison and set up meetings between school administration and the Food Bank of the Rockies.
On behalf of South Teacher candidates, the Food Bank of the Rockies (FBR) now provides additional food for those in need via two programs: Totes of Hope (aka Backpacks for Kids) and After School Snacks for Tutoring.
Totes are filled with 8 – 9 pounds of nutritious kid-friendly food and are distributed to children on Fridays to take home over the weekend. For many of these children, the totes are their main source of food on Saturday and Sunday.
FBR , through After School Snacks for Tutoring, also provides free snacks to all of the after-school programs at South.
South TCs encourage other TC communities to work with site schools to develop similar partnerships with FBR.
If you are interested in finding out more about how FBR can help your students, please call 303-371-9250, and ask about the “Totes for Hope”, and the “After School Snacks for Tutoring” programs. For more information about FBOR, visit their website:
http://www.foodbankrockies.org/
A few moments are all it takes to help inform your institutions with community resources.
~John Paul, Site Professor, South Middle School, Aurora Public Schools
Check It Out!
Hello all ye intrepid educators!
The Experiential Science Education Research Collaborative (XSci) at the University of Colorado Denver is pleased to announce our summer 2011 line-up of extraordinary travel experiences for teachers!
To Africa!
June 24 – July 12: Climb Mount Kilimanjaro, visit African towns, villages, AIDS orphanages, and Maasai camps. and explore the legendary Serengeti! Mount Kilimanjaro is located three degrees south of the equator in Northeastern Tanzania. It is the tallest mountain in Africa and is the highest freestanding mountain in the world. This immense mountain is made up of three volcanoes: Shira, Mawenzi, and our goal, Kibo, the tallest one in the middle. A local guide is required to hike Kilimanjaro. Porters will also go on the trip to carry your luggage, food, and other equipment. You will only have to carry a daypack with your daily essentials and cooks will prepare your meals. We will be hiking the Rongai Route up the north side of the mountain. The Rongai Route is easier and more scenic than the Marangu or Machame routes, and the success rate is very high. All climbers’ sleep in tents (tents are included) and meals are served in a dinner tent or on a blanket outside. The route starts just south of the Kenyan border, and is one of the least traveled routes. The descent is down the Marangu Route on the south side of the mountain.
Australia!
Science Down Under — July 13 – 25: This is Science Down Under! Of the 14 ecosystems defined worldwide, the continent of Australia is home to eight. The sheer size of Australia allows for a variety of vegetation and wildlife, and many of these groups have evolved in relative isolation, separated by features such as high mountain ranges.We will immerse ourselves in the fascinating natural history and biogeography of this large island-continent, which due to its isolation from other continents for at least the last 45 million years, contains a multitude of endemic flora and fauna. Experience an Outer Great Barrier Reef cruise and snorkel/dive on Agincourt Ribbon Reef – catch a glimpse of marine life you only see in text books.Visit Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Cultural Center followed by walk into Mutitjulu waterhole to view rock paintings, and hike into one of world’s oldest rainforest.
Hawaii!
Volcano Field Study — July 26 – August 9: An in-depth exploration of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park with its world famous Kilauea Crater, the Halemaumau Fire Pit, Sulfur Banks, Puu Oo Oo, and Steam Vents. Hike along the Crater, to the present eruption site and into lava tubes and a tour of the Geological Survey’s Volcano Observatory will originate from our base in the Park. Take a drive down the Chain of Craters Road to observe recent lava beach formation and shoreline erosion with sea arches, sea stacks and black, green and white sand beaches. Teachers will visit Waimea Canyon the “Grand Canyon of the Pacific”’ the Wet and Dry Caves, and hike/kayak the Hanalei River on Kauai. The Hawaii adventure will also take teachers into the water where they can snorkel or scuba dive to examine reef structure and wave action.
Space still available on all 3 trips — register today to avoid possible price increases due to airline fuel surcharges
FAST FACTS:
- Open to all levels
- Our special arrangements make it more affordable than tourist packages plus the added value of science learning in the field with new friends & colleagues
- Not restricted to science teachers (but anyone who likes adventure and willing to learn some science!)
- Participants will learn to make their own personal documentary short film about their experiences to bring back to students and colleagues (cameras and editing gear provided)
- Opportunities to participate in educational research on the impacts of extraordinary professional development experiences
- For Credit option — Each adventure is a 3-credit course and can be applied to graduate work, continuing education, options for undergraduate credit
- Ask about our family and friends co-traveller program (non-credit pricing)
Make your credit hours count! Live an experience that will change you, change the way you teach, and give you unforgettable stories of adventure to bring to your students in high definition!
Learn more and register at: http://xscisummer.moonfruit.com/
Or Call Brad McLain at 303-819-6917
Co-Director XSci: Experiential Science Education Research Collaborative
University of Colorado Denver
o: 303.315.2167 m: 303.819.6917
bradley.mclain@ucdenver.edu www.xsci-ucd.org
Conferences & Special Events
Circle Conference
Courageous Conversations
Vision * Dialogue * Action
CIRCLE CONFERENCE 2011
SATURDAY, MARCH 5, 2011
8:00am-5:00pm
What’s in Your Knapsack?
Repacking Your Knapsack
Through Intention, Engagement and Transformation
Location: Stanley British Primary School, 350 Quebec St., Denver, CO 80230
Keynote Speaker: Eddie Moore, Jr., Ph.D.
Click here for website
Click here for bio
Knapsack Institute: Transforming Teaching & Learning
Click here for flier.
CRUE Center Book Studies
The CRUE Center is offering independent Book Studies designed for those that are interested in expanding their knowledge, understanding, and practices related to culturally responsive pedagogy and practices. These are intensive one-credit courses designed for K-12 educators who are seeking graduate level courses for their professional development, license renewal and/or pay scale increases. The CRUE Center is located at the University of Colorado Denver and is a part of the School of Education and Human Development.
Click here for flier.
Job/Volunteer Opportunities
2011 Colorado-Wyoming Teacher Fair
Click here for flier.
Lookout Mountain Family Seeking Tutor
I am an Independent Educational Consultant and currently am working with a family in Golden who is in desperate need of a tutor for Executive Function issues. I am wondering if any of your students would be willing to interview with this family to see if they are a good fit to help with this issue. This is a student who is currently in Grade 8, heading off to a boarding school for high school and the goal is to help him gain a sense of awareness of these types of skills. He is, as many of these kids are, an extremely bright youngster.
Regards,
Sandy
Sandy Furth, M.S.
World Student Support
27 Conifer Rd.
Golden, Co 80401 USA
303.526.9148
www.worldstudentsupport.com
sandy@globewriter.biz
sandy@worldstudentsupport.com
Volunteer Opportunity with the Phoenix Center
Click here for flier.