The Ferrell family endowment was established in 2013 by Audrey Ferrell ’71.The Ferrell family endowment will help the College of Education realize the goal of placing all students at a PDS by removing possible financial barriers.
Within this issue, you will read about four of the more than 50 externally funded grant programs focused on the subjects of urban education, early intervention in special education, diverse cultural and linguistic needs, and educational leadership. You will also read about two alumni who have each been recognized as the best of the best by the state they serve and two dedicated education majors who have “dug deep” to make the most out of their time at Illinois State and ready themselves for the next step in their careers.
The line “I’m moving out to California to establish my career” is not often reserved for new teachers from Illinois. But Naperville native Amy (Brophy) Laughlin ’98 found herself sharing that exact news with her parents after attending the University’s annual education career fair.
While completing one of the most difficult, time-intensive undergraduate programs offered on campus, Lovgren met each and every obligation set forth by his major and his team. He pulled 12-, 13-, and 14-hour days without complaint. And he did so while transitioning between a professional, reserved academic setting to the grueling environment that is division I football.
Junior deaf and hard of hearing major Jill Tezak is not afraid to go the distance for educational opportunities. Traveling across the world to Cambodia
with a group of unfamiliar college-age students might frighten away most, but it is just the type of leadership experience that excites her.
The Washington Post and Niche.com ranked University High School (U-High) 56th and 55th in the nation, respectively, during 2014.
For the past 13 years, Tom Bertrand has served as the superintendent of Rochester Community Unit District 3A (RCUD), and in 2014, he was recognized with Illinois’ highest award for the position by the Illinois Association of School Administrators (IASA).
In an effort to better serve Illinois’ infants and toddlers with low vision, blindness, or deafblindness, Illinois State implemented an early intervention vision program in 2015 titled Early Learning Visual Impairment Services, Training and Advancement (EL VISTA). The grant program represents one of precious few programs of its kind in the nation and is funded by a five-year $1.23 million grant by the U.S. Department of Education.
The off-campus cohort model enables students to commute to a Waukegan University Center where the bilingual paraprofessionals take coursework to complete their four-year bachelor’s degree in elementary education with bilingual and ESL endorsements.
The Chicago Teacher Education Pipeline (CTEP) was awarded a $10 million grant last fall to expand its model in urban, high-need communities in Chicago, including Pilsen and East Garfield Park, as well as in other major cities in Illinois, including Decatur and Peoria.
