Grant Writing 101

Student members share their secrets for building their chapters and helping the community—and getting someone else to foot the bill. 

Jess Halstead knows grants. She’s written two successful ones in the past two years. Last summer she even conducted a workshop on grant writing for NEA Student leaders. And she did it all when she was a college student herself.

By tapping into grants offered by NEA and other sources, Student members like Halstead have increased chapter membership and organized valuable community outreach events. Moreover, as accomplished grant writers, these aspiring educators have developed skills they can use to help students and improve classrooms throughout their careers. And the best news? You can do it too.

“Writing a grant is not hard,” says Halstead, a December graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. “There are important things about grants that you need to know, but with help from an advisor or other faculty member, and by relying on NEA guidelines and materials from your state affiliate, any student can write a successful grant.”

In addition to receiving a Community Learning through America’s Schools (CLASS) grant, Halstead’s chapter secured two NEA Student Organizing and Assistance Resources (SOAR) grants. Halstead and her peers used the SOAR grants to educate predominantly minority students from the Milwaukee Public Schools about the opportunities available to enter the teaching profession. Without the $4,200 in grant funding, the project might not have happened.

“You can’t underestimate how much these grants help the chapter and the younger students we assist,” says Halstead. “In Milwaukee, many of our high school students ended up excited about pursuing teaching as a career. They had previously ruled it out simply because they were unaware of the financial aid available. “There’s just no feeling as good as helping the community through your chapter.”

And helping the community feels even better when someone helps you with the financing.

“I received a grant the first time I filled out an application,” says Tyler Duff, past president of the NEA Student chapter at Indiana University-Purdue University, Columbus. “It’s not so hard, but you need to invest time and be thorough.”

That means detailing every aspect of your project from the number of participants to the type of supplies or transportation you’ll need and other expenses you may incur, Duff says. But the effort can have quite a payoff. Duff’s chapter received a $1,000 CLASS grant thanks to the application he submitted. His chapter partnered with 20 other Student chapters in Indiana to renovate an elementary school, and about 250 college students spent a rainy spring day painting, landscaping, and completing other necessary repairs.

“If you can provide a clear statement of your financial need, and make a persuasive case that your project will benefit the chapter and the community, you’ll be a strong candidate for a grant,” says Duff. “And if you don’t get your first one, apply for another. Someone will say ‘yes’ if you keep at it.”

Katy Cook, past Student chairperson for Oklahoma and former chapter president of Langston University, also wrote a successful CLASS grant proposal that earned her chapter, and 23 others, $900. The grant paid for transportation and supplies needed to renovate an elementary school. It also helped the chapter solicit additional donations from the community. By timing the event to coincide with NEA’s Read Across America, and by partnering with a state “Books for Tots” program—which an NEA grant also helped start—Cook’s chapter provided 500 donated books to the kids at the newly renovated school as well.

“Words can’t describe how much that grant helped,” says Cook. “This never would have happened without it. And now, we’re hearing that the elementary school students are taking their work more seriously since we renovated the school. The community definitely feels an impact from our effort. And our own members have more pride in our chapter.” 

—Matt Simon

Cha-Ching

Need cash for your chapter? Then apply for an NEA SOAR (Student Organizing and Assistance Resources) or a CLASS (Community Learning through America’s Schools) grant. SOAR grants recognize NEA locals and state affiliates for their recruitment of Student members. Projects focus on minority teacher recruitment, urban college and university recruitment, community college recruitment, and high school future educator programs. Student locals working with UniServ units receive priority consideration.

CLASS grants, meanwhile, fund outreach projects that address a specific community need and involve an NEA Student Program chapter and a preK-12 teacher, education support professional, higher education, or retired affiliate. Want more info? Contact the NEA Student Program at 202-822-7130.

How To Be A Grant-Writing Guru

• Seek advice from individuals who have written grants. Consult printed and online reference material, including NEA materials available from your state Association.
• Don’t be too creative in your grant writing. Follow tried-and-true formulas. But do be creative in developing your project. Consult chapter members to identify a project that will serve your chapter, meet the needs of the community, and mobilize members.
• Detail every expense related to your project in your proposal. You may want to use a spreadsheet to organize your data.
• Include in your proposal examples of ways your chapter has served the community or its own members in the past. Explain how your current project will build on that success.
• Plan ahead, but keep your project flexible so you can incorporate a few contingency plans. Arrangements with schools, organizations, and other chapters may change.
• Apply early. Money available for a given year may be awarded to worthy applicants early on, leaving little or nothing for projects submitted at deadline time. Plus, the selection process and distribution of funds take time, which you should factor in your schedule.
• Don’t be discouraged if a grant proposal gets rejected. Apply again and again. Someone will say yes.

Looking for more grant-writing tools? Check out the Resources section .

Message from the Chair

Spring 2006

Former Chair Mandy Plucker Talks about Member Power

Why did you join the National Education Association? Were you asked by a friend? A professor? Or did you stumble across the booth at the activities fair? Whatever your reason, I’m delighted to welcome a new member to NEA’s Student Program. My question to you is: What kind of member are you? Are you an active member who goes to all the meetings, a casual member who takes part in some activities, or are you just a dues-paying member who doesn’t really participate in the decisions that will affect your future? My advice to you is this: GET INVOLVED!

I had barely started my sophomore year of college when the Dean of Education asked me to help resurrect the Student chapter on my campus. Within a week, I was headed to Chicago  for my first Student Leadership Conference. I learned so much about education and the teaching profession, I had to share this information with other students on my campus. That fall I was determined to get students involved, and our chapter zoomed from 0 to 60 members in three months.

As members of NEA-SP, we learned that the more active we became, the more knowledge we acquired. I’ve gained a better understanding of policy issues—such as the No Child Left Behind law and the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act—that will profoundly affect my career as a teacher. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg! I’ve attended key professional workshops on a range of topics, from classroom management and discipline to working with gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered (GLBT) students.

A good Student Program gives you the resources you’re not getting in college, helping you to become a well-rounded teacher and a strong advocate for public education. So, get involved and stay involved. Most important, encourage other students to become members and get involved as well. You’ll learn more about education, grow as a person and as a professional, and be ready to take on your first teaching experience knowing you have 2.7 million members behind you!

Mandy Plucker
NEA Student Program Chair

The Best-Laid Plans: Lessons from Hurricane Katrina

Stirred by Hurricane Katrina’s screaming winds, the water rose higher and higher, filling cubbies, soaking pages, shoving desks free from their rows, and eventually lapping across the roof of St. Martin Upper School in Biloxi, Mississippi.

When student teacher Sindi Holman returned to her classroom a few weeks later, she realized that almost nothing could be salvaged. Walls had collapsed, black mold had tracked everywhere, and decades’ worth of lesson supplies and materials had been swept away.

So, you can imagine how Holman, then a William Carey College student and a Gulfport native, felt.  Not only had many Gulf Coast landmarks in her personal memory been erased, so had her plans for the immediate future.

She had counted on a full semester’s worth of work with the fourth-graders at St. Martin. Instead, Katrina swept through and left Holman in its aftermath: desperately hunting through a mess of stinking debris, looking for her must-have folder of lesson plans, which she left on the classroom’s (now missing) windowsill, knowing it couldn’t possibly have survived the flood. Yet, there it was!

“I was like, ‘Thank you Lord!’ and I dried them out and typed them out,” Holman recalls. And then, like so many of her colleagues in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida, she got ready for work again.

When Biloxi’s schools re-opened, about a month after Katrina, Holman joined St. Martin’s students in double sessions at a neighboring, undamaged middle school. And that’s when this student teacher really started to learn about her new profession and its challenges. Suddenly, her classroom had become a virtual life raft for kids with little security in their lives.

“We decided the best way to get them back on track was to restore some normalcy to their lives,” says Holman. As normal as possible, that is.

“A lot of my assignments using children’s books had to be changed—our library had been wiped out—and I didn’t have a place to get the books,” she says. Dictionaries also were borrowed; notebooks were replaced; and Holman went hunting online for other free resources. “It was a lesson in resourcefulness!” says Holman.

It was also a lesson in collegiality, she adds. Teachers from as far away as Ohio have helped St. Martin to recover, sending more than a thousand new books and other materials, and everybody is helping each other.

Certainly, the whole experience was more harrowing than most student teaching gigs, but it also was rewarding, says Holman. After this, she feels she could tackle almost anything with confidence.

—Mary Ellen Flannery

Even if you aren’t living or learning in the Gulf Coast, Student members of NEA have been affected by the images of hurricane destruction. Many Student members from Wisconsin—where they collected donations at a student conference—to Kentucky to North Dakota, have reached out to help with both funds and goodwill.

The Kentucky Education Association Student Program (KEA-SP) already had planned to help poor schools in its home state when Katrina struck. But its leaders were so moved by images of Gulf Coast destruction that they just had to get involved, said KEA's student organizer Charles Main.

KEA-SP President Kayla Davidson, President-Elect Natalie Avant, and Ann Jury, secretary-historian, have organized a campaign to buy interactive Smart Boards and other technology for the hurricane-affected schools. To help, go to www.4schoolsonline.com , enter the school code KEA-SP-HELPS. Forty percent of the money spent will go to KEA’s effort.

The Student North Dakota Education Association has adopted two schools in Biloxi, Mississippi, where teachers have lost classroom libraries and materials that they've spent decades putting together. Their effort, called Pack the Pack , which refers to the kinds of supplies that fill backpacks, aims to collect $5,000 that Biloxi’s teachers can spend at Office Depot and Gulfport’s School and Carnival Supplies store.

Resources

Spring 2006

Great Reads

The First-Year Teacher: Teaching with Confidence (K-8) 

Revised Edition
By Karen A. Bosch and Katharine C. Kersey

This popular book, which features 24 new pages of information, offers beginning teachers a step-by-step plan for their first four weeks on the job. The guide also includes tips for communicating with parents, scripts for parent-teacher conferences, timesaving strategies for handling paperwork, solutions to common discipline problems, and activities to acclimate elementary and middle school students to a new classroom. Available for $16.95.

But High School Teaching is Different! Success Strategies for New Secondary Teachers

By Mary C. Clement

This book addresses the specific needs of preservice and beginning secondary teachers. Preservice teachers will find useful strategies and practical advice on getting the most from their education programs and starting the job search. New teachers will benefit from the tips on classroom management, effective communication, and professional growth. Available for $5.50.

Meeting the Challenge: Special Education Tools That Work for All Kids

By Patti Ralabate

This toolkit offers general and special educators effective strategies to help struggling students overcome academic or behavior difficulties. It includes useful ideas and time-saving tips as well as sample checklists, lesson plans, rubrics, and conference planning sheets that teachers can copy or customize to meet their needs. Available for $15.95.

Pitfalls and Potholes: A Checklist for Avoiding Common Mistakes of Beginning Teachers

Revised Edition
By Barbara A. Murray and Kenneth T. Murray

This handy guide will help you avoid many of the mistakes new teachers say they wish someone had warned them about in college. You’ll find tips for landing a job, managing student behavior, getting along with administrators, avoiding lawsuits, and more. Available for $4.50.

Best of Teacher-to-Teacher: The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide

This “best of” collection features favorite chapters from eight different books in the NEA Professional Library’s Teacher-to-Teacher series. You’ll find sections on multiple intelligences, discipline, parental involvement, and technology. The book also includes comments from beginning teachers about how these chapters helped shape their careers. Available for $12.95.

Bright Ideas: A Pocket Mentor for Beginning Teachers

Revised Edition

By Mary C. Clement

Providing practical advice in a handy checklist format, this book offers helpful tips on getting your first job, establishing communication with parents and colleagues, managing your classroom, and preparing lessons—perfect for beginning educators looking for a bit of wisdom and guidance. Available for $4.50.

Quick Clicks

NEA

Check out the rest of our site for Association news; links to NEA publications, state affiliates, and member benefits; information on special events such as NEA’s Read Across America; and sites for and about members. Don’t forget to visit the Student Program discussion board to chat with your fellow members.

New Teacher Tips

Works4Me

Whether you’re looking for strategies to keep your students on task or just get yourself organized, NEA’s Works4Me program has the answer. The online library includes more than 400 tips, submitted by fellow educators, offering practical solutions to just about any classroom issue. Be sure to join the mailing list to receive new tips by e-mail each week.

Teachers Network

Teachers Network is a nationwide, nonprofit education organization that identifies and connects innovative teachers exemplifying professionalism and creativity within the public schools. The Web site includes lesson plans, online professional development courses, and information about grants and videos available to teachers. Don’t miss the “Daily classroom Specials,” which feature project ideas, tips for working with parents, and special advice for new and substitute teachers.

Survival Guide for New Teachers

The U.S. Department of Education brings together the reflections of award-winning first-year teachers in this handy online guide for beginning educators. The guide focuses on teachers’ relationships with their colleagues, university professors, and students’ parents, all of which play crucial roles in their success on the job.

First Years

This Web site, started and maintained by two veteran educators, offers classroom activities, sample letters to parents, tips for classroom management, subject-specific lesson plans, and even free classroom posters and school clip art. Visitors can join an e-mail listserv for student and beginning teachers as well.

Yes I Teach

This site, maintained by the Florida Education Association, offers lesson plans, articles on students with special needs, classroom management tips, message boards, and even a little bit of humor for teachers of all levels. Users can submit stories and ideas of their own to the site and link to other useful Web resources.

Education World

Tips for interviews, lesson plans, technology integration, professional development, and educator issues are just some of the topics covered on the Education World Web site. You’ll also find information on communicating with parents, managing your finances, and even handling holidays in the classroom. Don’t miss the icebreaker suggestions and sample worksheets and handouts.

Community Outreach

NEA’s Read Across America

Celebrate literacy all year long with NEA’s Read Across America Web site. You’ll find tips and project ideas for the annual event, free posters and bookmarks to download and print, lists of popular books, and information and resources from NEA’s partners. Be sure to sign up for the monthly e-mail newsletter to receive the latest updates on literacy issues and special discounts on members-only merchandise.

Learn and Serve

Learn and Serve America provides grants to community-oriented school projects. The program helps nearly 1 million students, from kindergarten through college, meet community needs, while they improve their academic skills and learn the habits of good citizenship. Recipients use the grants to create new programs or replicate existing ones and to train staff, faculty, and volunteers. For more, call 202-606-5000.

National Institute for Literacy

Help expand the social and economic opportunities for individuals with few or no literacy skills by teaching them how to read and write. This federal organization supports the development of high-quality literacy services and compiles data about literacy rates among various population groups in the United States.

National Youth Leadership Council

The NYLC promotes service-learning through youth camps, conferences, exchanges, forums, and awards. The Council supports projects that integrate community service with academic curricula and oversees the National Service-Learning Exchange, which connects community service student organizations with 450 volunteer peer mentors with experience on service-learning projects. Visit the NYLC Web site or go directly to the National Service-Learning Exchange.

Special Education

NEA’s IDEA  Web site

Stop by NEA’s site on special education and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act for current research, updates on IDEA legislation, and resources for educators working with students with disabilities.

Council for Exceptional Children

The Council for Exceptional Children works with students with disabilities and the gifted. The organization advocates for sound government policies and offers opportunities for professional development to special education teachers.

Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) supports special education programs for children, youth, and adults. OSERS also conducts research and publishes information on issues related to special education.

National Clearinghouse for Professions in Special Education

NCPS gathers, organizes, and disseminates information for recruiting, preparing, and retaining individuals interested in serving children with disabilities. The Web site includes information on financial aid available to aspiring special educators, research and statistics on students with special needs, and resources for job seekers.

National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities

The Center provides a variety of resources on disabilities and disability-related issues for families, educators, and other professionals. The Web site includes information on programs and services for infants, children, and youth with disabilities; IDEA; the No Child Left Behind law; effective practices for children with disabilities; materials for  parents; and links to professional associations.

Political Action

NEA’s Legislative Action Center

Keep up with news from Capitol Hill at NEA’s Legislative Action Center. You’ll find updates on bills designed to improve the No child Left Behind law (NCLB) as well as information about other legislation before Congress. You can track your state senator’s or representative’s voting record and even send an e-mail message to your state and federal legislators. Don’t forget to sign up for the e-mail action alerts!

Center on Education Policy

As a national, independent advocate for public education and for more effective public schools, the Center on Education Policy helps Americans better understand the role of public education in a democracy and the need to improve the academic quality of public schools. The Center conducts research and informs the public about topics such as testing, vouchers, and school improvement.

National Association for the Education of Young Children

NAEYC is an organization of early childhood educators and others dedicated to improving the quality of programs for children from birth through third grade. NAEYC works to improve professional practice and working conditions in early childhood education and to build public support for high quality early childhood programs.

American Association of University Women

Since 1881, AAUW has focused on expanding women’s rights in academia and other areas. Many projects focus on increasing girls’ interest and achievement in math, science, and technology. AAUW staunchly defends civil rights, gender equity, and women’s health and reproductive choices.

American Civil Liberties Union

The ACLU defends the civil rights guaranteed by the U.S Constitution. Some of the ACLU’s focus areas include civil rights in schools, the separation of church and state, and the rights of minorities.

Close Up Foundation

The Close Up Foundation’s programs encourage teachers, students, and young adults to participate in the American democratic process through trips to Washington, D.C., and activities with local and state governments. Close Up uses a hands-on approach to educate people about how the government functions.

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

For the past 93 years the NAACP has worked for equity and democracy by opposing discriminatory and unjust policies. The primary focus of the NAACP remains the protection and enhancement of the civil rights of African Americans and other minorities. The NAACP works at the national, regional, and local level to secure civil rights through advocacy for supportive legislation.

National Coalition Against Censorship

The National Coalition Against Censorship works to educate its members and the public about the dangers of censorship. Functioning as an alliance of 50 nonprofit organizations, NCAC denounces the suppression of intellectual, artistic, social, and political activities protected by the First Amendment. The group believes that freedom of speech, movement, thought, and expression are fundamental in a democratic society.

Anti-Defamation League

The Anti-Defamation League combats anti-Semitism, bigotry, and intolerance on various fronts. The organization helps the victims of hate crimes, works to protect individual civil rights, lobbies legislators, and educates people about the danger presented by hate groups. The Web site includes programs and resources to help teachers challenge prejudice and discrimination.

Labornet

Labornet compiles online information about labor unions in the United States and abroad. The site highlights workers’ grievances and labor campaigns and offers news to keep workers informed about union activities. Visitors to the Web site will find links to labor news publications; labor, employment, and government statistics; and relevant legislation.

Human Rights Campaign

The Human Rights Campaign defends the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered citizens. HRC effectively lobbies Congress, provides campaign support to candidates for federal office, and works to educate the public on a wide array of topics, including workplace, family, and discrimination issues, that affect gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered Americans.

Teaching Tolerance

Founded in 1991 by the Southern Poverty Law Center, Teaching Tolerance provides educators with free educational materials that promote respect for differences and appreciation of diversity in the classroom and beyond. The Web site offers information on classroom activities, tools, grants, and a link to Teaching Tolerance magazine. Visitors to the site also can register for a monthly e-newsletter.

National Dropout Prevention Center

The NDPC provides information for researchers, educators, and policy makers about at-risk students. The NDPC also serves as a clearinghouse on issues related to dropout prevention and offers strategies designed to increase the graduation rate in America’s schools.

Grants

NEA Foundation

The NEA Foundation awards grants to educators who propose innovative and promising ways to help all students experience academic success and reach their full potential, especially those who have been historically underserved by society’s institutions. NEA Student Program members can partner with eligible teachers, education support professionals, and higher education faculty who submit grant applications. Examples of grant-funded work include study groups, action research, lesson study, and innovative project-based learning that helps close the achievement gap. Grant amounts range from $1,000 to $3,000.

The Foundation Center

The Foundation Center collects and organizes the names of hundreds of people and organizations that provide funding for socially significant projects. Visitors to the Web site can search an online database for corporate and foundation funding or request a free CD-ROM full of sources. The Center also provides information and research about grant-seeking and philanthropic efforts.

Federal Resources for Educational Excellence (FREE)

More than 30 federal agencies joined together in 1997 to create the FREE Web site. The site includes information on hundreds of federally supported teaching and learning resources in a variety of subject areas, from the arts to vocational education, and adds new resources monthly.

The National Science Foundation

With an annual budget of about $5.5 billion, the NSF represents the primary funding source for approximately 20 percent of all federally supported basic research conducted by America ’s colleges and universities. In many fields such as mathematics, computer science, and the social sciences, the NSF is the major source of federal backing. The NSF also offers special funding programs specifically for undergraduate and graduate students.

Education News

NEA Today

Stay up to date on education issues and Association news with NEA Today. The magazine is published eight times a year and is available online.

Education Week

This weekly publication includes local, state, and national education news and covers issues from preschool through grade 12. Education Week also publishes periodic special reports on topics ranging from technology to textbooks, and the Web site includes links to education stories from daily newspapers.

ERIC

The Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) is a national information system designed to provide ready access to an extensive body of education-related literature. The searchable database contains more than 1 million documents about education issues.

Job Market

Teachers-Teachers.com

This free service allows applicants to post their résumés and cover letters online, search for jobs by location, receive news about available teaching positions, view school Web sites, and send application materials electronically.

GreatTeacher.net

This Web site offers a free service that allows applicants to search for teaching openings by geographical location. Each ad includes a job description and contact information. Applicants also can post their résumés online at the site.

EduTech

This site offers search engines that sort jobs by location,category, and job title. You’ll also find information on job fairs, the latest job postings, and frequently asked questions about issues prospective teachers face.

Teachingjobs.com

This Web site maintains information on thousands of available positions in schools in the United States and overseas. Job seekers can receive newsletters and updates by e-mail about the most recent job openings.

American Association for Employment in Education

AAEE provides information to college career centers, school districts, and teacher candidates about the education job market. On its Web site, preservice teachers will find helpful job hunt publications, links to online job databases, and information on teacher certification. Check out the annual supply and demand report for information about the need for teachers in your field.

Bureau of Labor Statistics

The Bureau of Labor Statistics, a branch of the U.S. Department of Labor, collects and distributes data about the current job market. In the Bureau’s Occupational Outlook Handbook you’ll find detailed job descriptions, information on working conditions, training and education required, wage estimates, and future job prospects for a variety of occupations. You can search the handbook online for statistical information about education employment.

Recruiting New Teachers, Inc.

RNT works to bolster the teaching profession, expand the pool of qualified teachers, and promote strategies for effective teacher recruitment, development, and retention. At the Web site, prospective teachers can access a national job bank (searchable by state), links to financial aid programs, and information about state requirements for licensure and certification.

President's Message

Spring 2006

Committed to the Cause

The National Education Association is excited and honored to welcome you to the NEA Student Program. You couldn’t have joined us at a better time! The Association needs your energy. The teaching profession needs your talent. And the students of America need your dedication.

Public education is the guardian of equality and democracy in this great nation, yet its very existence is being threatened. Public schools guarantee every American child the right to an education, closing their doors to no one, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, social class, or disability. For millions of people, the wide-open doors of public schools have symbolized—like the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island —a gateway to democracy and the American dream.

You play a vital role in helping NEA defend every child’s right to an education. As NEA makes “Great Public Schools for Every Child” our number one priority, we need your help in the schools as we work to close achievement gaps, fix and fund the so-called No Child Left Behind law, and reach out to minority communities. And we need your help in the field to fight for better salaries for teachers, reach out to new members, and engage in grass roots advocacy.

But America ’s educators can’t do it alone. NEA has called for a historic covenant with the nation to adequately fund schools; promote parental involvement; fix and fund the education law; stop the privatization of jobs for education support professionals; and guarantee teachers fair pay, professional treatment, professional development, and a better working environment. If the nation calls on every school and every educator to give our best to every child, we call on the nation to give its best to every public school.

My friends, as America ’s future educators—you play a pivotal role in the future of your profession. I’m proud to have you on our team and excited that you’re committed, energized, and engaged to the cause of public education. If there is anything we can do to help you have a successful experience, don’t hesitate to contact us, because 2.7 million members of Team NEA are here for you—ready, willing, and able to assist you in any way we can.

--Reg Weaver

NCLB: A Not-So-Bright IDEA for Future Teachers, Their Students

Find out what the federal special education law means.

After almost two years as an elementary school resource teacher, Ashley Barton Workman knows no other profession can match the satisfaction she gets from working in special education. “I love seeing the pure joy on my students’ faces when they experience even small successes,” says Workman, a former Student member. But, she is more than a little distressed that the reauthorized Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) has confused educators so much they can’t figure out whether they meet the “highly qualified” standard necessary to keep their positions.

“I don’t think I should have to be worried about this so soon after graduation,” says Workman, who earned her special education degree in 2004 from Illinois State University.

Kim Anderson, NEA’s government relations expert on IDEA, understands the dilemma. “This is all very confusing for new and prospective teachers, especially those in special ed,” she says.

When educators serve strictly as consultants to core teachers, special education certification should suffice. However, special education teachers often don’t know their placements from year to year or even month to month, explains Anderson. “They are expected to be the most fluid teachers,” she says. “At any given time, depending on their specific placement, they could suddenly lose their ‘highly qualified’ status. It’s not a pretty picture.”

Across the United States there are about 100 different ways states can certify special educators, says Anderson. NEA argues that those state certifications should satisfy the federal “highly qualified” standards.

The reauthorized IDEA isn’t that flexible, but it does allow special educators some wiggle room. At the elementary level, resource teachers like Workman should be OK if they’ve passed the same skills tests that certify colleagues in general education. At the secondary level, IDEA lets states create their own High, Objective, Uniform State Standard of Evaluation (HOUSSE) for those new to special education, allowing them to become “highly qualified” in several subjects without earning multiple degrees or taking multiple PRAXIS exams. NEA also wants states to give HOUSSE points to new teachers for participating in mentoring or induction programs.

The reauthorized IDEA also changes how teachers participate in the development of student Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), another worrisome aspect, says Patti Ralabate, NEA’s special education policy analyst. “Administrators and parents can decide to excuse someone from an IEP meeting, even the general education teacher. Teachers will have to make it clear that they want to be there to make sure the IEP fits the child’s needs.”

Ralabate also cautions teachers about new directives in IDEA designed to reduce the number of special education referrals. For a child who’s struggling, teachers need to document extensively all interventions, even something as simple as assigning special homework. If you’ve worked with a student for six months without success but failed to document your efforts, you’ll be told to try again before making a referral, she warns. It’s all a response to concerns that, in some school districts, children of color dominate the special education rolls.

Of course, the new regulations could add even more paperwork to an educator’s job, a problem that Workman deals with daily. “It’s constant,” she says, “updating IEP goals, doing progress reports. I can’t tell you how many hours at night or on weekends I’ve spent doing paperwork.”

Ironically, while the reauthorized IDEA requires more documentation in some cases, it may also offer a little relief. A pilot program has allowed 15 states to waive certain forms. However, “there’s a danger that the only paperwork that will be reduced is the states’,” says Ralabate. “That’s not the intent of the law.”

–Mary Anne Hess

Here's more information. 

Techno Tools

Want to stay organized and cut down on paperwork once you’re teaching in the classroom? Then check out the NEA Teacher ToolKit  designed by NEA members. The toolkit is a suite of Web-based tools to help you assemble class rosters, track attendance, report discipline problems, and document academic interventions and their results. You also can search for state curriculum standards and lesson plans. And don’t miss the IEP module, which guides educators through the process of developing Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for special needs students. And the best part? It’s free! (You can access even more neat stuff, though, like online grade books and personalized assessments, for an annual fee of $71.95.)

Thriving as a Special Education Teacher

Colleges are graduating enough special education teachers to meet the high demand, says Patti Ralabate, NEA special education policy analyst. “The problem is these teachers don’t stay. They aren’t coming in with their eyes open. They’re not prepared for the stress, the paperwork, the large caseloads. It’s a great job, but tough. Within the first five years we lose 50 percent.”

What’s the solution?

Lots of mentoring and improved working conditions are critical, but more realistic preparation is probably first on the list, she says.

Laura Lee, a 2005 graduate of the University of Indianapolis, agrees. Lee spent her student teaching placement in a resource room in a very urban setting, which prepared her well for her current position working with special education students in New York. As a student teacher, “I attended IEP case conferences and had to keep up with the constant flow of paperwork,” she says. “It taught me how to organize myself.”

A solid understanding of classroom management techniques for handling diverse learners also is critical, says Ralabate. She recommends dividing the room into spaces for specific purposes; eliminating distractions such as unused equipment; setting aside “quiet” areas; establishing positive, concrete rules; and correcting minor infractions in a matter-of-fact way, then quickly refocusing on the learning activity.

“Discipline is the hardest part,” says Lee. “I try not to send students to the office because they’ll be missing the academic help they need. The better I get to know the kids, the more they respect me. I call the parents both for problems and when good things happen. I ask them for strategies because they know their children best. By asking for help you show the parents that you’re all part of a team. If students know their parents are behind you, they’re more likely to behave.”

For more tips, check out Patti Ralabate’s book Meeting the Challenge: Special Education Tools that Work for All Kids, available for $15.95 from the NEA Professional Library or call 800-229-4200.

FEES Fi Fo Fum

NEA Member Benefits offers a variety of money-saving products, including credit cards, auto and home insurance, and savings and loan programs.

During the past year, many credit card companies have revised how they levy late payment and over-the-limit fees. Now, instead of paying flat fees for these “transgressions,” cardholders incur penalties based on their outstanding credit balances. The fee structure may go something like this: $15 for balances from $0 to $500, $29 for balances from $501 to $1,500, and $39 for balances greater than $1,500.  In addition, some credit card issuers are even starting to charge an annual fee (up to $20 per year) to accountholders who pay off their balances in full each month. Check the fine print for your credit card to see if anything has changed, and be sure to pay on time and not overcharge!

Savvy Cyber Shopping

Shopping online offers the ultimate in convenience and can be just as safe as buying at the local mall or by mail order. To ensure your Internet shopping is worry-free:

• Use a secure browser. Look for a padlock symbol on the screen indicating a secure site.
• Shop only with companies you know. Almost anyone can set up shop online. Also, find out the company’s refund and return policies before placing an order.
• Keep your password private. Be creative when you establish a password, and don’t use the same password on shopping sites that you use for your e-mail and Internet access.
• Pay by credit card. You’ll be protected by the Fair Credit Billing Act, which enables consumers to dispute charges under certain circumstances and temporarily withhold payment while the creditor investigates the problem.
• Keep good records. Print out and save a copy of your purchase order and confirmation number. 
• Review the company's privacy policy. It should be available online and disclose what purchaser information the Web site collects and how it is used.

Fearless Wireless

Just as technology makes our lives easier, it also makes it easier for strangers to steal our personal information. Whenever you use your wireless network, it’s possible that your neighbor—or worse, a drive-by hacker—could be “camping” on it, too. And if you have file-sharing enabled on your computer, your personal data could be at risk. Keep out wireless intruders by taking these steps:

• First, activate any security programs that come with your router. All wireless products support the Wireless Equivalent Privacy (WEP) protocol. Newer products support Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA).
• Change the default password of your router.
• “Enable” MAC (Media Access Control) address filtering on your router and enter the MAC addresses of the network devices in your system. This will block devices with “foreign” MAC addresses from accessing your network. (To find the appropriate addresses for a Windows network, click Start, select Run, type “cmd” in the textbox, click OK, type “ipconfig/all” at the prompt, and press Enter. In the dialog box that appears, look for the line labeled Physical Address. Here you should find a MAC address for each network card or device in your system.)
• Install a firewall program to protect your network from outside attacks.
• Change the default network name to one that doesn’t reflect your name or address.
• Update your firewall and other security software on a regular basis.

Membership

Spring 2006

NEA

What is it and how can it help you?

What is the NEA?

The National Education Association (NEA) is the nation’s leading organization committed to advancing the cause of public education. NEA, with its headquarters in Washington, D.C., proudly claims 2.7 million members who work at every level of education, from preschool to university graduate programs. NEA has affiliates in every state and more than 13,000 local communities nationwide.

At the local level, NEA affiliates offer a variety of services from conducting professional development workshops on discipline and other issues to bargaining contracts for school district employees.

At the state level, NEA affiliates lobby legislators for the resources schools need, campaign for higher professional standards for the teaching profession, and file legal actions to protect academic freedom and the rights of school employees.

At the national level, NEA lobbies Congress and federal agencies on behalf of its members and public schools. The Association also supports and coordinates innovative projects, works with other education organizations, and assists its affiliates. 

How does it work?

NEA members nationwide set Association policy, most notably through an annual Representative Assembly—called the “RA”—held every July. NEA members at the state and local level elect some 9,000 RA delegates, who, in turn, elect NEA’s top officers, debate issues, and set NEA policy. Between RAs, NEA’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee serve as the top decision-making bodies. Staff at the local, state, and national levels carry out the policies implemented by the governing bodies.

How can NEA help you?

By joining the NEA Student Program, you join a network of 60,000 students dedicated to improving teacher education and supporting prospective teachers. As a member of the largest preprofessional Association for future educators, you have the chance to meet practicing teachers and fellow Student members at state and national leadership conferences, workshops, and public forums. You also have the opportunity to become a local, state, or national officer or serve as a delegate to NEA’s annual Representative Assembly—roles guaranteed to enrich your teaching and advocacy skills. Student members also serve on the NEA Board of Directors and NEA Resolutions Committee, as well as numerous other committees that cover everything from human rights to legislation and membership.

The Student Program offers SOAR (Student Organizing Assistance Resources) grants to help with membership recruitment on your campus and CLASS (Community Learning Through America’s Schools) grants for community outreach projects. Students also can apply for the Jack Kinnaman Scholarship, which awards $500 to one Student member each year. Members receive information and assistance with student teaching, certification, and professional development as well.

The NEA Student Program provides many opportunities for you to learn, to share, and to socialize with your peers—and with practicing educators. Your membership in the Association is an investment in your education and your future. So what are you waiting for? Join the Student Program today.

Job Hunt

Spring 2006

Ramp Up Your Job Search, Offers at Campus Career Fairs

With so many employers under one roof, the college career fair often resembles an all-you-can-eat buffet for novice job seekers. Fortunately, the right strategy can help you sort through the smorgasbord of opportunities, and avoid leaving with a bellyache.

“The job fair is a wonderful resource for students because it is so compact,” says Deb Stevens, Student organizer for the Delaware State Education Association. “It expands your opportunities because you can talk to people from so many districts—and they all come right to the students.”

But while a job fair puts numerous potential employers at your fingertips, don’t expect to get the same amount of attention from or time with administrators that you would receive at a scheduled job interview. Students need to familiarize themselves with the job fair environment before attending an event. So each year Stevens conducts a workshop on interview skills for Student members in her state, strategically scheduled just a week before the University of Delaware job fair, that emphasizes the unique, fast pace of fairs.

“Students already know to keep only their most important materials in a portfolio,” says Stevens. “But at a job fair, it’s got to be even tighter.” That means having just two or three well-presented portfolio items ready to show, she says. Students should include a photo of themselves conducting a lesson as well, she adds, and be prepared to explain the objective of the lesson pictured, what their students accomplished, and what they learned as the teacher.

A tight résumé limited to one page, two tops, also is critical. “Unless they’re hiring on the spot, your résumé will be put away until later,” Stevens says. “How you speak and interact with the representatives at the fair is much more important. They’ll be asking questions, including hypotheticals, and you need to be able to give confident, intelligent answers.” (Check out  “Final Answer” for some of the most common questions recruiters ask.)

To prepare for their university’s annual job fair, Kylene Clauss and other members of the Kutztown University Student chapter talk with other students about their job fair experiences and brainstorm responses to questions they know the recruiters might ask.

“We also talk quite a bit about confidence and appearance,” says Clauss, eastern region president for the Student Pennsylvania State Education Association. “It’s important to dress professionally at a job fair—as if you already have a job—and to let that confidence carry over into your discussions with administrators.”

When in doubt, overdress, suggests Stevens. “A business suit is really the way to leave an impression.”

Starting your job search as an underclassman also gets you noticed, says Student Organizer Michael Sears, who has coordinated two statewide job fairs for members of the Student Georgia Association of Educators. “We have more than 20 out-of-state districts recruiting at our fair,” he says. “Some of them track students for two or three years, so you should think about attending your first fair as a sophomore and building some relationships.”

But once students figure out what the school districts want in their employees, they need to determine what they need from an employer, Sears adds.

“Know the kind of school in which you want to teach, and ask meaningful questions at the job fair that will narrow your search,” he says. “Teachers aren’t leaving jobs over salaries. They need support and opportunities for professional development. You can learn about these by asking the right questions.”

—Matt Simon

Final Answer

Job fair interviews require quick thinking. Give yourself an edge by preparing a response for the most common questions recruiters ask:

• What is your philosophy of education?
• What makes a good teacher?
• Tell us something about yourself and why you’ve chosen teaching as a career.
• How would you handle a student who didn’t do what you asked?
• How would you communicate with parents?
• How would you individualize instruction to meet all students’ needs?
• Describe the components of an effective lesson plan.
• Describe the role of teachers in the learning process.
• How will you determine whether your students have met the goals of your lesson?
• What are you looking for in a school district?
• Why should we hire you for this position?

Job Fair Tips

• Arrive early. Fairs attract large crowds, so scope out your preferred districts and visit them first.
• Take more résumés than you think you’ll need. Surprise opportunities pop up at job fairs.
• Make and maintain good eye contact with the recruiters.
• Get a business card from each district representative you meet and send a thank you note for each interview.
• Stay flexible. Even if a district doesn’t currently have an opening in your subject area or preferred grade, ask about future opportunities.

Cover Story

Spring 2006

By Kristen Loschert

It’s finally here, the moment you have anticipated since you enrolled in your first education class—student teaching. Forget about “playing school” with your dolls and action figures. This is the real deal—the chance to strut your stuff in an honest-to-goodness classroom. It’s enough to make even the most committed education student panic.  

“It’s definitely one of those experiences where you feel butterflies in your stomach because you’re in charge,” says Emily McDaniel, a graduate of the master’s credential program at the University of California Santa Cruz. “It’s like teaching a toddler to walk—they jiggle around at first because no one is holding their hand. That’s what I feel like.”

Is it any wonder? For 16 years (or more) you’ve been the one sitting at the back of the classroom, and now, you’re the one sitting behind the teacher’s desk. If that doesn’t throw you for a loop, the long days teaching and even longer nights planning certainly will.

“It’s a little bit nerve-racking,” McDaniel adds. “But, it’s also empowering because you are the one directing the lesson.”

So, how can you make the most of your semester at the head of the class? Whether you’re worried about managing your students or just maintaining your sanity, these tips, suggested by actual student teachers, should keep you on track.

1. Get in the classroom early and often.Underclassmen, listen up! If you think you can wait until second semester of your senior year to walk into a school building for the first time, think again. Most education programs require some amount of “field time”—hours spent observing or volunteering in a classroom—even before you student teach. And, successful student teachers recommend going beyond your course requirements to find additional opportunities to interact with students. “If you have a school in your area or know a teacher, ask to volunteer in his or her classroom to get experience working with kids,” says Marchell Josie, a special education major at Ursuline College in Ohio. “Volunteer with Junior Achievement to teach kids about their community or just get a group of neighborhood kids together. Whatever experience you can get, just do it.”

During her four years at Ursuline, Josie clocked more than 400 hours of field time before she began student teaching last fall. She also has 12 years of experience volunteering with a local before- and after-school program as well as with her neighborhood YMCA.

“It’s been great going into the classrooms. I’ve learned a lot about what teaching is like today,” she says. “It’s easy to tell you things in your [college] coursework, but it’s another thing to see how the teachers teach.”

AJ Heroux, a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Whitewater, agrees. “The classroom is one of the most unpredictable places you will be, so get as much experience as you can dealing with kids or in situations where you have to think on your feet,” says Heroux, who tutored students and worked as a camp counselor prior to student teaching. “Being a camp counselor or coach or being a Boys and Girls Club mentor, any kind of experience like that is going to help you.”

Part-time teaching jobs also offer opportunities for aspiring educators to explore their craft. Robin Musch, a University of South Dakota graduate, spent three summers organizing lessons and planning field trips for elementary students in the Sioux Falls summer enrichment program. Her experiences developed her classroom management skills, she says, which smoothed her transition to student teaching last year. Meanwhile, Charles Ankney spent more than two years working as a substitute teacher and teaching assistant before he enrolled in the master’s program at Lindenwood University in Missouri. His work experience provided a first-hand look at life in the classroom, he says, and connected him with two educators who became his cooperating teachers during his student teaching placements.

Extra time in the classroom, either through volunteer opportunities or field placements, lets education students investigate schools in various locations as well, which helps them make more informed decisions about where they want to student teach, says Maddie Fennell, a former chairperson for the NEA Student Program. “Go into diverse communities,” says Fennell, now a sixth-grade teacher at Franklin Elementary School in Omaha, Nebraska. “Go teach in a school that was completely different from any school you ever attended. I never thought I’d teach in a public school because I spent my entire life in private schools, but as soon as I taught in a public school I knew it was the only place I’d ever want to be.”

Once you receive your student teaching placement, don’t wait until the first day on the job to visit the school either. “For students who will teach next spring, visit the classroom in the fall,” suggests Darlene Allen, student teaching coordinator and advisor for the NEA Student chapter at Indiana University-Purdue University Columbus (IUPUC). “Get to know the teacher and spend some time with the students so you can see how the discipline works and the day-to-day operations.”

2. Make your cooperating teacher your ally. Whether you call her a cooperating teacher, a guiding teacher, a master educator, or a mentor, the classroom teacher who supervises your placement represents your greatest resource. And, despite what you might have heard, your cooperating teacher does want you to succeed (and she won’t fail you if you have a bad lesson.)

“We expect student teachers to struggle, that’s why we’re there to help them,” says Fennell, who has mentored several student teachers in her classroom. “I don’t see how you can go into student teaching and have everything be perfect and learn a whole lot.”

Communication between the student teacher and the mentor plays a large part in ensuring a productive working relationship, says Fennell. The team should regularly discuss the student teacher’s progress and reflect on which lessons worked well and which ones flopped, she says.

“Being open to criticism is a big thing,” adds Christine Tran, a student in the master’s credential program at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). Student teachers need to acknowledge what they don’t know and experiment with techniques their mentors offer, she says.  For instance, “My guiding teacher suggested using the overhead. I did it and didn’t like it, and he could see I was awkward with it. But the point is, I tried it,” says Tran. “It’s the whole concept of learning by doing, because as a student teacher you are learning as much as you are teaching.”

Student teachers need to reach out to their cooperating teachers as well. “I approach them for feedback and input. I don’t sit around and wait for them to come to me,” says Ankney in Missouri. “Showing them I am teachable and want to learn has made for a good relationship.”

That philosophy should extend throughout the school building too. “You need to show you want to be part of the school community,” says Musch in South Dakota. “Don’t just hide out in your room or bury your head in your papers. Sit in the teachers’ lounge. Get to know the teachers and interact with them.”

Connecting with staff members schoolwide also lets student teachers observe other teachers in action, something most student teachers don’t spend enough time doing.

“When student teachers walk into a classroom they are dying to start teaching, but you have to sit back and watch,” says Fennell. “You want to maintain continuity of what has been established by the teacher, so you don’t want to come in and change a teacher’s system.”

Besides, the observation time provides a great opportunity to memorize the class seating chart and learn students’ names, adds Ankney, which will help you build a rapport with students and maintain order once you do assume control of the classroom.

Bottom line: “Be willing to work very hard, even harder than your cooperating teacher,” says Fennell. “I’ve seen some student teachers who think they can walk in at 8 a.m. and walk out at 4 p.m. and have everything done. I don’t do that, why should they?”

But what happens if you and your cooperating teacher just don’t get along?

“It’s important to tough it out as long as you can, but if you’re not learning then it’s time to move on,” says Fennell, who switched cooperating teachers during her own student teaching placement. “Go to your university supervisor or go above them if necessary and tell them you need some help.”

3. Set the right tone from the beginning. When the big day comes and you finally take control of the classroom, how can you ensure everything runs smoothly, or at least as smoothly as possible? For starters, don’t try and buddy up with your new charges.

“Student teachers want to be accepted and want to be friends with their students, but that is their undoing,” says Mary Ann Manos, professor and Student Program advisor at Bradley University in Illinois. “They’ve stepped on the other side of a professional line and many of the behaviors they see as friendly are unprofessional.”

No-nos like accepting gifts from students, attending parties at students’ homes, inviting students to your home, or transporting them in your car don’t just undermine your authority with the students. They make you vulnerable to allegations of inappropriate behavior, including sexual misconduct, which could cost you your student teaching placement or your career. “If they lose their student teaching placement under allegations of misconduct, their university can remove them from the teacher education program,” says Manos.

So be proactive, Manos continues. Read a copy of your school’s faculty handbook and familiarize yourself with basic policies that impact your teaching practice. (Remember—student teachers must abide by the same school regulations as their cooperating teachers and other school staff.) Then, in the classroom, outline your expectations for student behavior and delineate clearly between your role as the teacher and the role students have as learners. Finally, if you have a question about your or a student’s behavior, document it and talk to your cooperating teacher or university supervisor.

One way to establish clear boundaries and reinforce your authority in the classroom is by commanding students’ respect, rather than their affection.

“Without respect you can’t have good classroom management,” says Tran at UCLA. “Management is so important because without it you can’t teach. You’re always dealing with discipline.”

Ankney at Lindenwood University agrees. “There is this fear that if the kids don’t like you, the teacher won’t think you’re doing a good job. But it’s not a good thing to fall into because you lose control of the classroom.” That’s a lesson Ankney, an aspiring social studies teacher, learned the hard way.

During his first student teaching placement at Parkway Northeast Middle School in St. Louis, Ankney didn’t outline his expectations for student behavior early in his placement. The result? Lots of small talk during his lessons and a classroom atmosphere that fostered discipline problems, he says. It was a mistake Ankney didn’t repeat during his subsequent assignment at Parkway Central Middle School.

“I built a good rapport with the students, but I put my foot down from the get go,” he says. “It’s important to be firm and strict, but not nitpicky over every little thing that bothers you. The student teachers who have the least control over their classrooms are the ones who try to control everything.”

Learning about your students’ interests by attending extracurricular and community activities can help you build that rapport with them.

“I’ve been to gymnastics games, basketball games, band concerts, and [students] love it,” says Heroux in Wisconsin. “When they see you there as a student teacher they think it’s awesome that you take the time to do that, that they are more than just a column in your grade book.”

Don’t forget to involve parents as well. “Call students’ homes early and often,” suggests Jason Bobis, an aspiring English teacher from Indiana University Northwest. “It’s more important to call home when the students are doing well—even more important than when the students are acting out.”

4. Take care of yourself.  Whether your placement lasts for eight weeks or eight months, you will need lots of stamina as a student teacher. So pace yourself.

“Many [student teachers], especially in the first few weeks, think it will be like the field experiences. They find out very quickly they are exhausted at the end of a day of teaching,” says Allen at IUPUC. “You’re on your toes every minute. You can’t sometimes even take a deep breath, and I’m not sure they always are prepared for that.”

Anthony Daniels, a master’s student at Alabama A&M University, admits he wasn’t. “I was overwhelmed,” he says. “You would never think it takes so much work. When I was teaching fifth grade, I was so tired I would plan on the weekend so I could try and get a nap after school. I even slept 12 hours straight one night, I was so tired.”

Planning lessons several days or weeks in advance and staying organized can minimize the late nights, suggests Daniels. But, trying to juggle student teaching with campus activities or a part-time job will compound your exhaustion. So, student teachers shouldn’t over-commit themselves and should scale back their work hours and other obligations if possible.

“You can’t be the kind of teacher you want to be if you are working from 6 to 11 every night and only have two hours to plan your lessons,” says Heroux. “You have to devote all the time you have to it.”

At the same time, student teachers need to find time to unwind and take care of  their own health or needs.

“Teachers have personal lives too,” says Tran at UCLA. “When you make time for yourself and your personal life you can be a better person for both you and your students.”

Exercising, meditating, journaling, and talking with friends can help student teachers manage their stress and avoid burn out, says Bobis. Maintaining realistic expectations about their performance as student teachers also helps, suggests McDaniel of UC Santa Cruz.

“As a new teacher, and someone learning the ropes, you’re constantly learning,” she says. “Sometimes it’s hard because you want to do things right the first time, but as a student teacher you have to expect you’ll make mistakes, just make sure they are learning experiences.”

Nobody said student teaching would be easy. Then again, nobody told you it would be this hard either. But student teachers say their placements strengthened their confidence in their teaching abilities and reinforced their commitment to helping the neediest students. And, more than anything, now they can say they did it.

“Student teaching can wear you out and bog you down,” says Tran. “But once everything falls into place and you find out what your teaching style is, it becomes the most meaningful and rewarding profession.”

Be a Globe-trotter

Looking for a way to see the world but feeling hamstrung by your education course requirements? Consider international student teaching. More than 100 universities in the United States conduct student teaching programs in more than 50 countries worldwide. Although individual programs vary, most place student teachers in Department of Defense schools, American-sponsored overseas schools assisted by the U.S. Department of State, international schools, or host country schools.

“Initially I chose to apply for student teaching abroad because I thought it would be a perfect way to travel and gain more knowledge about the world of art while teaching at the same time,” says Megan Lester, a graduate of the University of Northern Iowa who student taught in Bamberg, Germany, last year. “This experience has been so much more than what I had hoped for. I have had challenges along the way, both in and outside of the classroom, all of which I believe will make me a better person and a better teacher.”

If you are interested in teaching overseas, check with your university’s office of field experiences to determine whether international student teaching satisfies your  state’s teacher certification requirements. (Some states require local student teaching placements.) Then, if your school of education does not offer international opportunities, check out these programs, which serve students from various universities:

• Consortium for Overseas Student Teaching  
• Department of Defense Education Activity  
• University of Northern Iowa Out-of-State and International Student Teaching Center 
• Foundation for International Education  
• Search Associates International School Intern Program 
  

A Penny Saved

Even though student teaching pays dividends for your career preparation, it doesn’t pay the bills. Long hours in the classroom make it difficult for student teachers to work during their “off” hours and some universities even forbid it. And while it would be nice if your landlord accepted lesson plans in place of rent, most student teachers endure a serious financial crunch during their placements. Here are a few ideas to stretch your dollars.

Save, save, save   Marchell Josie at Ursuline College started saving money her freshman year in preparation for a semester of student teaching. As a nontraditional student who supports her sister, Josie knew quitting her job wasn’t an option. But the extra cash she stashed away allowed her to cut back her work hours and devote more time to her placement.

Get a gig that pays instead of pursuing a traditional student teaching placement, Cara Dillman completed a paid internship at a K-12 school in rural Bowler, Wisconsin. Although Dillman’s advisor at the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point helped her find the job, Dillman still had to apply and be hired by the school district. The semester-long placement satisfied her student teaching requirement and put some extra cash in her wallet.

Similarly, Jodi Scott, a graduate of Washington State University, obtained a special state certificate that allowed her to substitute teach for her cooperating teacher. The substitute experience showed Scott that she could manage the classroom on her own, she says. (Pocketing a day’s worth of sub pay was an added bonus.)

Minimize your expenses   Both Robin Musch from the University of South Dakota and Jason Bobis from Indiana University Northwest saved on housing expenses by living with their parents while they student taught. Christine Tran at UCLA, meanwhile, snagged a job as a university apartment coordinator so she could live on campus rent free.

Cutting back on restaurant meals and entertainment expenses also helps student teachers save a few bucks, Musch advises. Attending events that offer free food also comes in handy, adds Tran.

Ask for cash   During her final year at Creighton University Maddie Fennell, a former chairperson for the NEA Student Program, realized she was running out of tuition money. So she approached her university president, asked for some help, and the university agreed to cover her tuition, partly to recognize her active Association involvement.

Other students, like Scott in Washington, secure extra school loans to get through the year. (You may qualify to have your school loans forgiven if you teach in a low-income school or a high-demand subject area. Check out http://studentaid.ed.gov  for details.)

And, of course, if all else fails, “don’t hesitate to write to Oprah,” jokes Tran.

Classroom Connection

Spring 2006

Seuss on the Loose: Student Members Celebrate NEA's Read Across America

With fun to have and lives to touch, NEA's Read Across America means so much!

Amanda Milner was a freshman at Elizabethtown College when her mom, a high school teacher in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, asked her to dress up as the Cat in the Hat for an event for NEA’s Read Across America. Now a senior and state president of the Student Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA), Milner can still recall the delighted faces of the kids who showed up to celebrate Dr. Seuss’s birthday. So, it’s not surprising that last winter, as Southern region president for Student PSEA, Milner organized a similar extravaganza full of books, crafts, and music. More than 50 students from five colleges and one high school volunteered for the event, which brought hundreds of children and parents to Strawberry Square, a local retail complex.

The effort joined countless activities nationwide, as more than 49 million adults and children flocked to schools, libraries, community centers, malls, and parks for festivities on (or around) the March 2 birthdays. Launched in 1998, NEA’s Read Across America (RAA) has evolved from a book- and fun-filled day into a yearlong program to promote reading, says Anita Merina, national coordinator for RAA. “For college students who organize such an event, it’s a great opportunity to see the tremendous difference one activity can make for a community and to see the positive impact of the profession they’re entering.”

To draw in the crowd, Milner and student volunteers blanketed schools in a four-county area with fliers. For entertainment, they invited choirs and jazz bands from local elementary, middle, and high schools. An array of people, from local news anchors to Milner’s mom, read their favorite books to kids who sat on carpet squares donated by the mall. It wasn’t surprising the event made the TV news that evening.

The festival, like others across the country, also featured a book-collection drive, netting more than 1,000 titles for a hospital, shelter, and local Ronald McDonald House.

In the middle of the country, volunteers from the Student NEA chapter at Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, South Dakota, promoted both reading and family togetherness at their RAA carnival, which drew 300 children and their parents to the campus last March. The children read books, received ones to keep, played Seuss-inspired games, and downed a Cat in the Hat birthday cake, says elementary education major Valerie Reeves, who co-chaired the event with fellow Student member Jami Kuta.

“The kids really treasure the books we gave them,” says Reeves. “One little girl told me she reads hers every night.”

Meanwhile, Missouri children enjoyed playing “pin the hat on the cat” at a festival organized by members of the Student NEA chapter at Southeast Missouri State University, says Jackie Metz, chapter president at the time. Turnout was lower than the previous year so Student members surveyed parents on whether the event should continue. “We got a great response,” says Metz. “One parent said, ‘There’s no way you can’t have it.’” So, before she graduated last year [2005], Metz made sure there was someone in line to chair the event. And, she’s planning to go back and help out.

Even a snowstorm couldn’t keep almost 300 children and parents from heading to the gym at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise to celebrate Dr. Seuss’s birthday. “I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, there won’t be anybody here to eat the cake,’” says Kristen Bowen, chapter president.  Happy to be proven wrong, Bowen and her cohorts served the sweets and whipped up green eggs and ham, all donated by a local grocery store.

Youngsters read books and played games as they moved through centers marked by large cardboard stand-ups of favorite Dr. Seuss books. It’s an annual event that everyone in this mountainous region—from faculty families to the neediest parents and kids—looks forward to, says Bowen. 

—Mary Anne Hess

Tips for a Grinchless Event

• Apply for a grant from NEA, your college, or a local community foundation to cover your expenses.
• Plan at least three to six months in advance. Your event doesn’t have to occur on March 2, especially when it falls on a weekday. Be sure your event doesn’t conflict with your college’s or the local schools’ spring breaks, since families may be out of town.
• Blanket local elementary schools and shopping centers with fliers or posters. Ask your local newspaper and radio and TV stations to run free ads or public service announcements.
• Solicit local supermarkets, bakeries, and restaurants for food donations. After all, you can’t have a birthday party without a cake!
• Ask local celebrities to appear as guest readers and use local school choirs and bands for entertainment.
• Get teens involved by organizing poetry readings or poetry slams.
• Organize a book donation drive as part of your event. It’s a great way to get local businesses and your entire campus involved.
• Ask local bookstores to donate gift certificates to give as event prizes.
• More ideas

Read All About It

Looking for a great read? Then join the NEA Student Program book club. It’s simple to do, fun, and guaranteed to make you smarter. Just stop by NEA’s online community to find out the name of the latest book everyone is reading and to see what your fellow members have to say about it. To get started, visit go to the NEA Student Program  Web site, click the link for discussion boards, and check out the latest in the Student Program forum.

Maximize with Minis

Soon-to-be graduates anxious about finding jobs after college are getting some help from the Illinois Education Association’s Student Program. At the end of each year students can maximize their exposure to potential employers by participating in a “mini-résumé” project, which allows them to distribute their information to the more than 1,000 superintendents throughout the state.

Program Director Donna Manering says about 300 student program members take part in the project each year and some receive as many as 24 contacts in response, often from school districts where they didn’t even apply.

“This is a good way for us to let them know about the organization, to help students get interviews and ultimately to have students that are committed to the IEA-NEA in positions within the schools in Illinois,” Manering says.

The IEA distributes the blank application to graduating student members at the end of each year. Students are asked to provide information about their extracurricular activities, community involvement, leadership experiences, and involvement in the IEA-NEA Student Program, as well as respond to an essay question.

For the last two years, mini-résumés have been sent to superintendents on a CD-ROM, which Manering says is a good way to get the word out about the program and its activities.

For those concerned about how their membership in the NEA might affect future employers, Manering says, “superintendents want to hire students that are involved and committed to education, and being an IEA-NEA member lets them know that students are already involved in our organization.”

For more information visit  the IEA-NEA Student Program .

—Mary Robbin

From the NEA Professional Library

Why Portfolios

Teaching jobs are highly competitive, and creative ways of presenting yourself are essential! The following scenario shows how imperative it is that, as a prospective teacher, you are able to demonstrate your competence to others in concrete ways.

Katie Smith sat at the end of a large conference table surrounded by interviewers, all of whom were administrators or veteran teachers in the school district to which she was applying. Each of them had in front of them a brochure, called “Portfolio at a Glance,” which Katie had prepared and mailed to the district personnel office a week ago. This brochure briefly summarized several of the documents in Katie’s professional portfolio—her notebook full of documents as well as her electronic portfolio, which contained the same documents in computer files.

As Katie answered interview questions, the interviewers passed her portfolio around the table, examining documents and making notes. After the interview the personnel superintendent said, “Miss Smith, your portfolio was unique because it enabled you to support all your responses with concrete examples of your knowledge and experience. Other candidates for this position had portfolios—even electronic ones—but yours was the only one organized around national teaching standards to show your capabilities in the teaching behaviors that we think are important. We are all very much impressed. We think you'll make a fine addition to our district teaching faculty!”

From How to Develop a Professional Portfolio:A Manual for Teachers (Third Edition) by Dorothy M. Campbell, Pamela Bondi Cignetti, et al. For a copy, call 800-229-4