October 19, 2018 | UHCL Staff
University of Houston-Clear Lake’s College of Education sponsored the first Clear Creek Independent School District Teacher Symposium for high school juniors and seniors interested in becoming Texas public school educators. The event, held Oct. 17 at UH-Clear Lake, was attended by approximately 150 students participating in Teacher Education Training in their respective high schools.
“Each student is taking a Teacher Education Training preparation class now,” said Stephanie McBride, Clear Creek I.S.D.’s executive director for professional learning. “The TET teachers told me that the students should experience a real teachers’ conference, in which they would attend sessions and learn about different topics related to education, just as their own teachers do. We had the idea to have it at UHCL, in collaboration with the Center for Educational Programs, so that our students can be on a university campus.”
“We are so pleased to host this very first symposium,” said Mark Shermis, dean of UHCL’s College of Education. “These students are all looking to become public school teachers and we hope to be an inspiration for them. And we hope UHCL will be the place for them to begin their training a year or two down the road,” he said.
McBride said that the students would be attending four sessions through the course of the symposium. Topics include classroom management strategies, literacy in the elementary school classroom, building positive relationships with students, and special education modifications and accommodations. “All the sessions are taught by Clear Creek I.S.D. teachers or personnel who are leaders in their areas,” she said. “This helps students get a realistic concept of how to prepare for a career in education and to get a sense if this is the right field for them.”
Director of the Center for Educational Programs Tonya Jeffery said the College of Education is always seeking opportunities to strengthen and enhance existing school-university partnerships with local school districts. “Through committed, collaborative activities between college and university faculty, and P-12 faculty in our school-university partnerships, we can share knowledge that prepares future educators and share current educators’ best practices in the school community,” she said. “We hope some of the students present today will become future Hawks in our College of Education teacher preparation program.”
For more information about UHCL’s Center for Educational Programs, visit www.uhcl.edu/cep.
