Education Department Newsletter, January 12, 2018

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New■ Fall 2018 Student Teaching in General and ESL Education Information Sessions: All students ready to student teach in the Fall of 2018 in general education (all content areas except for Special Education) are required to attend an Information Session to learn the process for applying. Being ready means that all coursework must be completed before September.

Attend one of these sessions: Monday, January 22 from 6:00-8:00pm in the Marshall Room of Christensen Center or Friday, January 26 from 6:00-8:00pm in the Marshall Room of Christensen Center. Contact Barbara West immediately if you have a work or class conflict: <westb@augsburg.edu>.

New■ Upcoming, free NES Prep Sessions! Invite your classmates! Registration is required.

The NES math prep sessions will run from 1/12/2018 to 3/2/2018. They are every Friday for 8 weeks and will be held at Metro State University (Midway campus). Register for the math prep sessions here: <https://goo.gl/forms/lPdh2To28sOSi0ko1 >.

There are 2 reading and the writing sessions at Augsburg University on 4/7/2018 & 4/14/2018. Register for the reading and writing prep sessions here: <https://goo.gl/xb4MVO>.

For those of you who have not passed the NES exam or partially passed the NES exam, you can pick and choose which sessions to attend. We advise students to take the exams right after the prep sessions while the material is fresh in your mind.  More information is available at: <https://web.augsburg.edu/education/downloads/Spring-2018-NES-Prep-Flyer.pdf>.

New■  The Super Bowl: Its Potential Impact on Augsburg: Due to the Super Bowl bringing in people from outside of the area, students should know that although we do not have plans for non-Augsburg people parking on campus, people may park illegally in our lots (though we’re not expecting a lot of this to happen).  Reference the city of Minneapolis website regarding road closures for the Super Bowl <http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/VISITORS/SUPERBOWL/WCMSP-195148>.  All of the street closures are in the Downtown area, so Augsburg students shouldn’t need to worry about finding alternate routes due to street closures. However, students should expect delays on the highways due to the amount of traffic around the city and to plan accordingly.

New■  Summer Reads Vista Jobs: The Minnesota Literacy Council is hiring for the Summer Reads Vista program. Change a child’s life this summer by joining Summer Reads, an AmeriCorps VISTA program at Minnesota Literacy Council. Each year, approximately 75 VISTAs serve in pairs at one or two placement sites in summer schools, libraries and community organizations across Minnesota, with the goal of helping children in grades K-3 improve their literacy skills and fight the summer slide. Under the mentoring of an on-site supervisor, VISTAs serve in a variety of program environments.

Go to: <http://www.mnliteracy.org/volunteers/vista/summer-reads-vista> for more information. Applicants must create a My AmeriCorps account to apply. After you create your My AmeriCorps account, you must then apply to the Summer Reads position listing(s). Applications are accepted and interviews are granted on a rolling basis until filled. Priority consideration will be given to applications received before April 30.

■  AmeriCorps Promise Fellow Program: The Minnesota Alliance With Youth sponsors the AmeriCorps Promise Fellow Program. This program brings caring adults into middle schools and high schools to increase school engagement for students identified early to be at risk for high school drop out. Student teachers finishing up this December can serve their community and immerse themselves in a school environment prior to applying for full-time positions for the next academic year. Members would receive a modest living allowance, Education Award ($2,907.50) to be used towards student loans of future education, and federal student loan forbearance.

For more information, go to: <https://mnyouth.net/americorps/promise-fellows/> or call Christina Berget at 651-587-0531 or email: <cberget@mnyouth.net>.

■  Teacher Candidate Grant Funding Available for Qualified Students: The Office of Higher Education is excited to announce the application for the Teacher Candidate Grant is now available. The Minnesota Teacher Candidate Grant provides postsecondary financial assistance to eligible students enrolled in Minnesota teacher preparation programs during one term in which the student is completing a required 12-week or more student teaching experience. On a funds available basis, selected undergraduate and graduate students may receive awards of up to $7,500. Applicants must intend to work in an identified shortage area and/or belong to a racial or ethnic group underrepresented in the Minnesota teacher workforce to be eligible. Go to: <http://www.ohe.state.mn.us/mPg.cfm?pageID=2248> for more information.

Submitting news to Augsburg:

  • To the Education Department News: Send your news to Joseph Erickson at C.B. 312 or erickson-AT-augsburg.edu.
  • To the Augsburg Now published by the Augsburg College Office of Public Relations and Communication: Send your news to C.B. 145 or now@augsburg.edu.
  • To the daily A-Mail electronic newsletter: Go to AugNet Home Page and login. Then click on “Submit News and Announcements” link.

Connecting with Alumni and Friends:

Augsburg College provides several ways to stay connected with Alumni and friends. Here are some links to get you started:

  • Alumni Information Update: Submit news and contact information changes to the college’s Alumni Office.
  • TC2 New Teachers’ Blog

Other Sources of News for K-12 Teachers:

Here are links to some of the very best online news sources for K-12 teachers:

  • Education Week
  • Teacher Magazine
  • Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (also, subscribe to ASCD SmartBrief, a daily email news resource delivered right to your inbox).