ESU upgrades elementary education internships

Elementary education majors at Emporia State University will soon be required to complete a one-year internship at designated “professional development schools.”

According to department chair Larry Lyman, the program is similar to internships in a hospital. A public school makes an agreement with ESU to provide specially-trained mentor teachers to guide interns and model good teaching practices.

“The student starts at the beginning of a school year, and takes methods classes on top of their classroom schedule,” he said. “They are usually involved with two different grade levels, but whenever possible, in the same school.”

ESU elementary education majors were first able to intern at professional development schools in Olathe in 1993, when that district was ranked one of the six best staff development programs in the country. In 1996, Emporia elementary schools were added to the program. Today, students can also complete internships in Topeka and Americus. Programs in Burlington, Shawnee Mission and Kansas City, Kan. will be added in Spring 2004.

“Students will essentially be able to choose an urban, suburban, small city or rural setting to best match their professional goals,” said Lyman.

In the past, students could choose any school in Kansas for their student teaching semester. With all elementary education majors now required to follow the PDS model, the university will be able to tailor the student’s experiences to produce better-prepared graduates.

“These models are developing the kind of teachers they want to hire in the classrooms. It matches new federal and state standards a lot closer. We have ten years of validated field experience that says this produces a quality teacher,” said Lyman. In some cases, school districts hire news teachers based on their performance as interns in that district, he said.

A PDS program for secondary education majors is in development. “Our goal is to have all students in PDS,” said Lyman.

Last Updated July 2, 2007>