Introduction

The lack of diversity in the pool of potential teacher education students is of major concern to educators today. The Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia (UVA) has a strong interest in encouraging students from minority groups to apply for admission since many of the minority students admitted to UVA gravitate to fields that are potentially more lucrative than education.  Although Piedmont Virginia Community College (PVCC) offers a ready source of non-traditional students, including older students and minority students, its present education curriculum is designed to reflect minimum state standards for provisional certification and is not geared to those choosing to transfer into teacher education programs.   The Teaching Fellows program was designed to attract students presently enrolled at PVCC into a program that would provide an extensive introduction to the profession of teaching and enable students to transfer into the Curry School of Education’s five-year teacher education program.

Background

The Teaching Fellows Program at UVA and at PVCC is a collaboration between the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia and Piedmont Virginia Community College.  The program, sponsored by a grant from the Philip Morris Company, is designed to attract non-traditional students into the teaching profession.  The Philip Morris initiative has funded a variety of approaches to attract non-traditional students into teaching across the country through their program, “Extending the Bridge.”  The program with PVCC and UVA was funded for a three-year period beginning in the fall of 1997 and is now (Spring 2000) in its third year.  Bridging the path for those students who begin their studies at the community college is seen as a way to attract students who will be committed to teaching and who are likely to stay in central Virginia. There is a well-documented need for minority teachers in our public schools today, and it is hoped that the non-traditional students who are targeted in this program will include minority students. Finally, the Virginia Community College System convened a task force in the fall of 1999 to address issues related to improving teacher education in the Commonwealth, and programs such as this will hopefully provide information for the future direction of such endeavors.

The Teaching Fellows Program begins with the recruitment of students at PVCC who are interested in teaching.  These students apply to become “Teaching Fellows” at PVCC.  Identification of these students is made by faculty and counselors at PVCC who interview and select students to participate in the program. The students enroll in a year-long Foundations of Education course at PVCC taught by a faculty member from the Curry School of Education; the course is worth two credits each semester.   During the fall semester, instruction takes place primarily in the PVCC classroom, and students are placed in public school classrooms for the spring semester, meeting at PVCC every second week.

 Students are given a $500.00 stipend to use toward their tuition and to purchase books for the course.   At the end of the year, those students who have accumulated the necessary credits apply to transfer into UVA and into the Curry School of Education.  This is a two-part procedure: the students first must be admitted to UVA and then to the Curry School. If admitted, the students receive credit for the Foundations of Education course, allowing them to enter directly into the third year of the teacher education program and eliminating the need to take a Foundations of Education course in the summer preceding their enrollment in the Curry School’s teacher education program (a requirement for all other transfer students). 

 Additionally, students receive a stipend of $1,000.00 for each of the three years they are enrolled in the Curry School.  Financial concerns are a serious issue for non-traditional students, and it is hoped that offering some support will serve to encourage them to seek admission to the Curry School’s five-year program for pre-service teachers.   Additional provisions in the grant have provided funds to purchase education texts for the PVCC library and funds for additional educational experiences for the Teaching Fellows. Last spring we took an overnight trip to visit schools in the Charlotte-Mecklenberg  System.  A graduate student in the Curry School is assigned to assist with the course, providing support for his/her graduate studies. The classroom teachers who work with the students are given a stipend of $75.00 for their help. An additional component of this grant calls for the development of a paraprofessional program at PVCC, currently being designed.

Recruitment of Non-Traditional Community College Students

Several strategies have been used to recruit students to participate in this program.  PVCC has advertised the program internally and also in local newspapers.  Additionally, PVCC faculty are asked to identify students they feel will be successful participants in the program.  When the students are admitted to the program, they are told that there is no guarantee that they will be admitted to the University of Virginia.  They are advised that if they have grades and standardized test scores that meet UVA’s requirements they will be competitive for admission.  We also have advised students who are interested in pursuing teaching but who will not have the necessary requirements to transfer to the University of Virginia to consider other schools.  Two students from last year’s program are now transferring to other institutions, and at least one in this year’s program is already planning to transfer to another institution.

We have found it more of a challenge than we initially anticipated to recruit 15 students as was provided for in the grant. While there are certainly students enrolled at PVCC who hope to become teachers, it is often difficult to find this out unless they have specifically made the goal clear to a faculty member or an advisor.  We need to identify students a year prior to their completing their course work at PVCC so they can enroll in the Foundations of Education course and then be considered eligible to receive credit for this course in the Curry School when they transfer to UVA.

Academic Skills/Competencies of These Students and the Implications for Meeting Transfer Requirements

To meet the requirements for admission into the Teaching Fellows program, students are expected to have a minimum 3.0 GPA at PVCC and to be ready to transfer to a four-year institution at the end of the year.  They follow the standard procedures for the transfer process; transfer students must first be admitted to UVA and then, in a separate process, to the Curry School of Education. In 1998, all four of the students who applied were admitted. In 1999, two of the five students who applied to UVA were admitted; the other three are presently attending other institutions to finish their degrees. When they graduated, their overall PVCC GPA was 3.6.  Several other students have applied to other four-year institutions and have been admitted as teacher education candidates although we have not negotiated for transfer credit of the Foundations of Education course at these institutions.

 

Field Issues Related to the Placement of Students

We felt that it would serve our purposes more successfully if all students were placed at one school for their introductory fieldwork.  Several reasons guided this choice: initially, we believed it would be more reasonable to enlist the support of one school and one principal for our program. And secondly, it was certainly easier to have a single school to work with when observing students and also for purposes of debriefing students.  Finally, since the primary goal of this yearlong course was to introduce students to the complexities associated with life in schools, we felt a more in-depth examination of one school would give all students a common experience from which to draw. 

We were lucky to gain the enthusiastic endorsement of the principal of Cale Elementary School in Albemarle.  The principal, Gerald Terrell, has guided his school to work with E.D. Hirsch  in adopting a core curriculum (based on the Core Knowledge: What Your First (Second, Third, etc.) Grader Should Know). Mr. Terrell greets all the PVCC students in the fall and matches them with teachers at their requested grade level.  The students make one visit before Christmas and then eight more visits during the spring semester.  The principal’s personal interest in the program and support of our goals have been an important part of the success of the program. 

We have written a field manual to accompany the students in this experience. Students are asked to observe and describe the physical characteristics of the classroom, management strategies used, and the like. We place particular emphasis on the students’ observing the components of the core curriculum as they are taught at their assigned grade level, and we also ask that they have an in-depth interview with their teacher because we think it is important that they become as familiar as possible with the variety of issues that arise in classrooms today.

 All the classroom teachers at Cale have been most enthusiastic about working with our students and have felt pleased they could contribute to a new program of teacher preparation.  One of the teachers made a point of saying that she felt this program was particularly valuable because she too had been a community college student and at the time had felt there was little interest in encouraging students enrolled in community colleges to become teachers, making her goal of becoming a teacher more difficult to attain.  Because most of our students are older and many have had other careers prior to returning to school, the classroom teachers at Cale have observed that their focus and interest in becoming teachers are strong, and that they find these students very responsible in fulfilling their requirements.

 

Perceptions of Students Enrolled in the Program in the First Cohort (1997-1998)

We asked the four students who were admitted to UVA after the first year of the Teaching Fellows Program to give us feedback on their perceptions of the program.   They all agreed that knowing the program would help pave the way for transferring into UVA and the Curry School was very attractive.  Two students said they might not have directly pursued teaching had it not been for this program. One of these students said:  “When I entered the program, I just thought it was one class and a grant.  I absolutely did not expect to get as much out of the experiences as I did.  Since I had not seriously considered teaching until I heard about the program, I was fairly skeptical about the whole thing.…It wasn’t until I spent time reflecting on the possibility of teaching and the impact teachers had had on me as a result of applying for the program did I realize this was something I would like to do.”

All four of the students said how much they appreciated the help with the mechanics of applying to transfer, and noted that the way had been paved for them prior to beginning classes.  PVCC’s counselors and faculty are well-informed about UVA’s requirements, and the students all appreciated the added input they received on this process as part of the Teaching Fellows Program.

They all were positive about the initial year’s work at PVCC in the Foundations of Education course and felt the fact that the requirements were as rigorous as they were helped prepare them for the challenges at the university level.  As one student said, “the class/program has helped me construct better papers, develop better study habits, and I frequently draw back to the information from last year’s experiences to this day.”  Another student noted that “the discipline and study habits I gained while at PVCC, mostly as a result of being a part of the Teaching Fellows Program, laid the groundwork for my success today. As part of this small cohort I was expected to achieve and prove that I could compete at UVA.  The expectation, as much as my ability, made achievement possible for me.”

All four students stated that their experiences last year really helped them focus on issues related to teaching in a realistic way: one student said, “It helped me to think about the meat of teaching and focus on a more realistic view of what all teaching entails….helped take off the rose colored glasses and bring attention to the fact that teaching is more than passing on your passion  to eager minds.”  And they all noted the value of the field experience:  “Getting our toes wet in a real classroom situation was…REAL…Not ideal, not theoretical, but real people, real students, some things worked and some things didn’t!”

These students cited the value of being in a cohort group as they entered Curry and said the support of the faculty mentor was key to their adjustment:  “The sense of community in the classroom was a real joy, and I still count those who transferred with me as important contacts and friends at UVA.”   Another one said, “I cannot emphasize how important the cohort group has been as the foundation for my peer cohort here at UVA.”  Transferring into a large institution is confusing no matter how well prepared students are, and in this case, we have found that monthly meetings organized for the transfer students have helped ease the adjustment.  We have actually expanded this “transfer” group to include all students transferring into the Curry School and have received positive feedback from the opportunity to meet regularly.  As the table below shows, this first group of Teaching Fellows has done well academically their first year at UVA and seemingly are well on their way to completing the five-year program successfully. One of the students received a generous scholarship as the outstanding elementary education student in the fourth-year cohort in Curry, and a second student has been selected to work as an instructor in the instructional technology lab, a highly sought-after position.  And it is also interesting that all these students, plus several from last year who are still enrolled at PVCC, have volunteered to come back on several occasions to talk with the present cohort of Teaching Fellows; this has provided an important motivation for the students.

Perceptions of Students Enrolled in the Second Cohort of the Teaching Fellows Program (1998-1999)

Students enrolled in the program during the second year were also positive about the way it is structured.  Their main complaint about the Foundations of Education course was that there is too much reading required, but they also agree that this is preparing them for the demands when they transfer to a four-year program.   We also require that they keep a weekly journal reflecting on readings and other events associated with this class, and again, the students find this a sizable task but also find it helpful.

Students have all commented on the opportunity to first explore many issues related to education and then to observe these issues reflected in the elementary school classroom.  One student said,  “The program has prepared me to take the next steps in pursuing a career in education.”  A second student expressed it a bit differently:  “I entered the program with preconceived notions—some accurate, others incorrect, most of them vague—about what it would be like to be an educator.  This program has helped confirm my belief that teaching is the right career for me.  And my focus on the role that I intend to play as an educator becomes more refined with each successive class.”   One student commented:  “While I’ve been spending time in the elementary school, I find myself incorporating information from last semester into the classroom while I observe the teaching instruction and the interactions with the students.”   And another student also noted this, adding:   “this program has made me become aware of issues related to teaching as a career and working with children.”   Two other students echoed these comments and said that they have gotten more out of the program than they had initially anticipated, and that the class has helped affirm their desire to teach.  Finally, a student also observed that “this program is an excellent way to increase diversity at the Curry School of Education.  This program has made me become more knowledgeable and aware with issues related to teaching as a career and working with children.  I must honestly say I am honored and proud to be part of the Teaching Fellows Program.”

Perceptions of Faculty Associated with the Program:

Faculty at both institutions are enthusiastic about the potential to develop a cadre of pre-service teachers from the PVCC population.   The faculty at PVCC are becoming more aware of the program and referring potential candidates to apply to the program. Faculty in the Curry School are equally interested in encouraging a more diverse population in the program and have been supportive of the PVCC students in particular as they have entered our program.

The staff at Cale Elementary School has been most supportive of the program.  This year more teachers volunteered to work with the students than were needed, and the principal assured us of his continuing commitment to this project.

Additional issues related to the partnership

We had hoped to have an initial class of  fifteen Teaching Fellows identified at PVCC, and out of those fifteen that ten would apply to the Curry School.  In fact, this has not happened: we had ten students the first year, and four applied and were accepted for transfer.  The second year of the program, five students applied to transfer and two were admitted.  This year (2000) it appears that five students will apply to UVA, and their eligibility for admission has not yet been assessed. There are several issues we need to continue to examine.  First, there is the question of identifying students who are both academically qualified and interested in pursuing teaching presently enrolled at PVCC.  Then, once these students have been identified and recruited into the program, there is the question of keeping them throughout the first year: in all three years we have lost several students for reasons as diverse as health problems, the lack of time, the need to earn more money, or a concern that teaching was not what they wanted in the first place.

Once these students do matriculate to UVA, realistically, there are considerations that pertain to students from community colleges that do not pertain to the majority of undergraduates at UVA.  The most important one is money, followed secondly by time: these student are primarily responsible for supporting themselves and will have to make adjustments in work schedules to allow for their continuing education at UVA.  And as the majority of these students are older than the typical cohort, it is important that we continue to follow them and to ensure their inclusion in the Curry School.  And last, but not least, there is the issue of academics: for some of these students the university-level courses will be a challenge, and we need to make sure they are negotiating these courses successfully.

Because the faculty in the Curry School recognized the need to continue to mentor this particular group of students, I began meeting regularly with all students transferring into Curry in the Fall of 1998.  This program has become very successful, and one outgrowth of it has been a plan to create a network of peer mentors for all students in the Curry School’s five-year teacher education program.

Conclusion

We all heartily endorse the notion of partnerships and collaboration between our educational institutions, and certainly this program is an example of just such a partnership. With a growing need for teachers in our schools, we all know it is necessary to identify and train as many qualified teachers as we can.  The pool of dedicated non-traditional students one finds enrolled in our community colleges is an excellent source for finding some of these teachers.

 

 

Eleanor Vernon Wilson is an Assistant Professor of Curriculum, Instruction and Special Education at the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.  Her primary teaching responsibilities are in the Curry School’s five-year teacher education program, and in addition she has taught an Introduction to Teaching course for the last three years at Piedmont Virginia Community College.

 

 

The author would also like to acknowledge Ms. Bobbie Potter at Piedmont Virginia Community College and Dr. Sandra Cohen at the University of Virginia for their comments and input on earlier drafts of this article.

 

Portions of this article were presented as a paper at the George Mason University Symposium on Recruiting and Preparing New Teachers: Partnerships that Work in March, 1999.

 

Summary of Data related to Teaching Fellows Program

	TEACHING FELLOWS ENROLLED	TRANSFER    TO UVA    AND TO    CURRY	PVCC    GPA	AGE	GENDER/    RACE	UVA GPA  FALL ‘99
1997-1998	10 enrolled   7 complete the two-semester sequence of Foundations of Education	4 applied     4 admitted	3.1	range: 24-47 years old   average age:   34 years	5 African-    American    females   3 white    females   2 white males	3.1
1998-1999	10 enrolled   8 completed the two-semester course	5 applied   2 admitted	3.0	range:  19-46  years old   average age:   29 years	3 African-    American    Females   3 white   females   3 African-   American    Males   1 white    male	3.1
1999-2000	11 enrolled     10 will complete the two-semester course	6 will apply   as of 4/00 admissions decisions not available	3.3	Range: 21-45 years old   average age: 32 years old	2 African- American females   6 white females   2 white males   1 African- American male