Five first year teachers participating in Teacher Scholar Program
Contact: Christina Chapple
9/19/06
Caption ...
NEW TEACHER SCHOLARS ? First year teachers participating in Southeastern Louisiana University's Teacher Scholar Program recently gathered on campus for a "welcome ceremony" with program administrators and Link Teachers. From left, are St. Tammany Parish Link Teacher Casey Gleason, Lori Sibley and Hannah Cobb of Walker, Jennifer Davis of Denham Springs, Clancey Anderson of Mandeville, Mary Tanguis of Slidell, Livingston Parish Link Teacher Jennine Newsom, and Teacher Scholar Program Coordinator Dr. Sonya Carr of the Southeastern Department of Teaching and Learning.
HAMMOND – Five first-year teachers from Livingston and St. Tammany parishes are participating in the 10th year of Southeastern Louisiana University’s Teacher Scholar program.
Teacher Scholars from Livingston Parish are Lori Sibley and Hannah Cobb of Walker and Jennifer Davis of Denham Springs. Sibley and Davis are teaching at North Live Oak Elementary, while Cobb is teaching at South Live Oak Elementary.
St. Tammany Parish Teacher Scholars and their schools are Mary Tanguis of Slidell, Whispering Forest Elementary, and Clancey Anderson of Mandeville, Woodlake Elementary.
The Teacher Scholar program enrolls first year teachers who have been identified as prospective leaders in their profession. The university pays the salaries of the novice educators, who are placed in classrooms in participating local school districts. In addition to teaching, Teacher Scholars also are enrolled in a fast track Master of Education graduate program at Southeastern.
School systems release teachers to serve as "Link Teachers," who provide support for the Teacher Scholars and share their real world teaching expertise with students in Southeastern's teacher preparation program.
Recently, the newest Teacher Scholars gathered on campus with their families and friends, Link Teachers, and principals, and were welcomed into the program by Dr. Sonya Carr, coordinator of the Teacher Scholars Program and a member of the university’s Department of Teaching and Learning faculty.
The Teacher Scholar Program, Carr said, was designed to address new teacher retention and “to mentor new teachers to take leadership roles down the road.”
Dawn Rush, principal of North Live Oak Elementary in Watson, said she has been involved with the Teacher Scholar Program for nine years -- five years as the Watson school’s top administrator and four years as assistant principal.
While all new teachers are “initially overwhelmed,” she said Teacher Scholars “are immediately comfortable because you know your Link Teacher has your back, that she wants to make sure your first year is an awesome experience.”
She added, “Recently, a parent called me and asked if the ‘Ms. Davis’ teaching her child was ‘one of those scholar people from Southeastern.’ When I told her yes, she said, ‘Well, thank God!’”
“Even our parents know that the teacher scholars are risk-taking innovators ready to grab the world by the horns and shake it up,” Rush said. “That’s what that parent wanted for her child.”
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