Bev Williams, University Liaison
bwilliams @ littlemiamischools dot com
Since 1999, Little Miami has been involved in an educational partnership with the University of Cincinnati Middle School Education Program. The University assigns students to Little Miami so that they can perform Internships which will prepare them to be effective teachers. UC benefits from the partnership with an “Excellent School District”, and Little Miami benefits from having two teachers in the classroom.
The Middle School Education program at UC is currently a five year program. We have UC students at Little Miami who are both fourth and fifth year students. During the fourth year, students are called “Associates”.
Associates are assigned to a classroom in the summer to work with a “Mentor Teacher”. Associates come every day, all day for the first three weeks of school. This is referred to as the “Opening School Experience.” Through this experience, the Associate becomes familiar with the students and is available to help the classroom teacher establish routines and procedures. After three weeks, the Associate comes once a week for four hours.
Fifth year students are called “Interns”. Like Associates, Interns are assigned to a Mentor Teacher in the summer. Interns also come every day, all day, for the first three weeks. After the “Opening School Experience”, the Intern comes every day for one-half of the day. The Interns come to us with a Bachelor Degree, and are working in a graduate program. They are qualified to act as a substitute teacher should the Mentor Teacher be unable to come to school.
Not only do Little Miami students reap the benefits of having two teachers in the classroom, but research shows that the Mentor Teachers, as well as other teachers and staff in the buildings grow professionally in working with the University students.
University students are expected to conduct themselves in an appropriate and responsible manner. To participate in the Associate/Intern experience, the candidate must sign the “Moral Conduct” form. Both Interns and Associates are evaluated quarterly by their Mentor Teacher and the University Supervisor. Besides quarterly evaluations, the University Supervisor must complete disposition forms which are both formative and summative evaluations.
An added benefit in having University Interns is that building principals are able to observe interaction between students and staff members with the Intern. Therefore, rather than being limited to hiring a new teacher from an interview, he/she has the background knowledge of how an Intern actually teaches. There are no questions concerning classroom management, peer interaction, or lesson preparation. The principal has had an opportunity to witness these attributes, or lack of, first hand.
Little Miami currently hosts fourteen UC Interns and Associates. These students are working in Morrow Elementary, Maineville Elementary, Little Miami Intermediate School, and Little Miami Junior High.
If you would like to find out more about our UC/LM Partnership, please contact Bev Williams, UC Supervisor/ LM Program Coordinator at 513-899-4723 or bwilliams @ littlemiamischools dot com.
