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ADOPT-A-SCHOOL PROGRAM
The Adopt-a-School Program is a collaboration between the Graduate School of Education and area schools. We place undergraduates in classrooms in the role of student assistants who will supplement the work of classroom teachers by giving very close attention to students who would benefit most from that kind of interaction. These student assistants, who will work under the supervision of the classroom teachers, will focus primarily on the areas of writing, reading, and mathematics. The student assistants will be a daily presence in the classroom, and thus an integral part of the learning environment.
Participating schools were chosen on the following criteria: its proximity to the University; the interest level of the school principal and faculty; and the degree of academic need among the school's student population. Some teachers choose to involve the student assistants in group work within the classroom; others might ask student assistants to work with one student who would benefit from one-on-one instruction.
The student assistants are chosen from among the University's brightest and most talented students, many of whom minor in education as a preface to a career in education. Although we will not limit participation to those who plan to make a career of teaching, we do expect the program to appeal to those students who are prospective teachers. Because most of the schools under consideration have large minority populations, we will make every effort to recruit as many minority student assistants as possible.
Most student assistants participating in the Adopt-a-School Program enroll in Educ 97 or 197, fieldwork seminars required for the Education minor. Our activities in the seminars focus on issues of importance in understanding the learning process and instruction delivery in a range of classroom settings. The seminars also provide ample opportunities for frank discussions of the scope of practice of teachers in the 1990s, and practical strategies for assisting in classrooms.
The benefits of the Adopt-a-School Program are obvious. For the classroom teacher faced with the challenge of students with widely disparate skills and interest levels, the student assistants will offer the possibility of instruction that will address all those disparate needs simultaneously. For the student who is capable of learning if only someone had the time to address him or her as an individual, with unique strengths and weaknesses, the student assistants will provide not only the chance to learn math and English, but also the chance to revise his or her self-image as a student. The student assistants will also provide a model of academic success for the students. And in being role models the student assistants themselves will discover a new motivation for keeping their academic record as bright as possible. In addition to sharping one's mind and teach them flexibility and resourcefulness, it also provides a much-needed link between theory and practice. This is of importance both to prospective professional educators and to lay persons who make decisions regarding the schools as part of their civic responsibilities.
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