Alejandra Salinas Garcia, Pathways cohort 2 student and fellow seminar classmate this Fall, started her school year off setting up a full classroom! We are especially fond of her introductory teacher card for parents with the QR code included and her affirmation station.

Jaiden Williams ‘25: “Reading to the students at the Hume house was the best start to my day that I could have imagined. What started with reading a book led to developing lasting relationships with the students very quickly. It was amazing to see the curiosity and excitement that I remember having as a child when the big kids were around.”

Amelia Webb ‘25: “I enjoyed visiting and working with the kids! It was a lot of fun reading the book to them and having them participate alongside. I am excited to go back next week with a different activity for them to try.”

Emily Witt ‘25: “I really enjoyed this visit and am so happy that I am able to have this opportunity to get first-hand experience working with children. Going to the Hume house has ensured me that this is what I want to do in the future, and I can't wait to go back next week!”

Teacher question: I wonder why you never write about curriculum integration. This year my district is all about including social studies in all of our lessons and my sister (a teacher in another state) is doing something like that with science in the upper grades. Do you have any advice for teachers like us?

Shanahan response: As a teacher I was a strong advocate of integrating reading and writing instruction at a time when that kind of thing wasn’t common. Later, when I became an academic, I studied reading-writing relationships and that blossomed into an interest in the combination of other curricula as well which eventually led to my work on disciplinary literacy. For the full blog post, click here.

Shanahan response: The relationship between reading and math has long been of interest to scholars. For a long time, the data were pretty confusing.

They found reading ability to be an important precursor to better math performance (hooray, hooray). But they also reported the reverse – better math skills presaged reading improvements. That, of course, makes little sense. For the full blog post, click here.

Annually, a committee of the CL/R SIG (Children’s Literature and Reading Special Interest Group) of the International Literacy Association selects 25 outstanding trade books for enhancing student understanding of people and cultures throughout the world. The committee reviews books representing all genres intended for students K-12. More information about NBGS can be found at http://www.clrsig.org/nbgs.html. Past and present NBGS book lists are available at http://www.clrsig.org/nbgs-lists.html.

2022 NBGS Books

Every month a teacher candidate from across Rollins Education Department programs is highlighted and featured for their inspiration, accomplishments, and community impact at Rollins, within their local and global communities, and/or work with K-12 students.

Congratulations to Aisha Barber, a teacher candidate in cohort 2 of the Pathways program! In only her third year at Catalina Elementary School, Aisha was awarded Support Person of the Year. Aisha is currently majoring in Elementary Education. When asked why she wants to be an educator Aisha stated, “After serving several roles in the classroom, I found that the connection I build with students is what fuels my passion to educate.” This is Aisha’s second time being awarded Support Person of the Year, as she previously won the title while working at Riverside Elementary. Aisha is a proud member of the Rollins Pathways to Teaching program through Orange County Public Schools. Aisha graduates in December 2022 and can’t wait to start teaching in her own classroom soon!

Congratulations to Rollins College ‘22 Pathway to Teaching Cohort 1 graduates. Since its debut in 2020, the Rollins College Pathway to Teaching partnership with Orange County Public Schools has allowed many OCPS paraprofessionals and program assistants to fulfill their dreams of becoming teachers. The program’s first Cohort walked across the stage this May 2022, they received their B.A. degree in Elementary Education with ESOL and Reading endorsement. Many of the graduates are now teaching in their own OCPS classrooms.

Cohort 2, which started the program in Fall 2020, is now completing their Senior internship and will finish the program in December 2022. Cohort three will begin their pre-internship Spring of 2023. With the high demand for qualified teachers, the program has enrolled the 4th Cohort of future teachers. This pipeline to teaching program between Rollins and OCPS is proven successful.

As Marybelle Doe, a recent graduate from the program who teaches Intensive Reading at Cypress High School, said, "Rollins College made dreams come true by offering the means to a goal. My time and experience at Rollins taught me the strategies and skills to educate as if I were a tenured teacher. I feel so confident and accomplished in my new role, but more importantly, I feel that I am genuinely serving my purpose in life."

If you know anyone interested in the OCPS Pathway to Teach program, please contact:

Laura Raymond

Admission Manager
Hamilton Holt School | Rollins College | www.rollins.edu/holt

407-646-2239 | lraymond@rollins.edu

1000 Holt Avenue, Box 2725 | Winter Park, FL 32789

Sometimes, inspiration comes in the most unlikely of places. Other times, it comes from one of your own. When you are inspired, you are motivated to create more. Create more laughter, more ideas, more possibilities!

Below, you will find an uplifting word from Rita Pierson, a seasoned and fellow educator: Rita Pierson: Every kid needs a champion | TED Talk

Other sources of inspiration:

Edutopia