![\"Walker,MU](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flovalleynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/WalkerMU-fellowship-500x278.jpg?resize=500%2C278\" "\\"Walker,MU")
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Susan Gentry<\/strong>, the MU Fellows mentor at Lawson Elementary School, third from right, with her current and former MU Teaching Fellows, from left, Kristen Hoberg, Kim Everding, Savanna Green, Jessica Ballew and Katie Bennett.<\/p>\n Two elementary schools in the Hazelwood School District have partnered with the University of Missouri (MU) and its Teaching Fellowship Program. Walker Elementary School is in its first year with the program while Lawson Elementary School is in its third year.<\/span><\/p>\n To begin, MU education students enroll in the Senior Year On-Site Program (SYOSP). During the first semester, they spend three days a week observing classes in each grade level for two weeks. During the second semester, they begin student teaching. Lawson has three SYOSP students this year.<\/span><\/p>\n Next, SYOSP students can apply to the MU Teaching Fellowship Program. Once accepted and matched with a school, they complete a master\u2019s degree that emphasizes learning and instruction. The fellowship program is a rigorous one offered by the university and the MU Partnership for Educational Renewal (MPER).<\/span><\/p>\n \n \u201cThe school makes a list of candidates it\u2019s interested in and the Fellows make a list of the schools that interest them,\u201d said Susan Gentry, the MU Fellows mentor at Lawson. The matches become partnerships. Lawson has two Fellows who are fifth grade teachers and three full-time teachers who graduated from the program last year. Walker has two MU Fellows who teach kindergarten and second grade.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n Being a mentor comes with responsibilities. The first and most important responsibility is to the Fellows. Mentors provide support and feedback, collect data for action research, co-teach or team teach, model and share district curriculum, instructional strategies, policies and procedures.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Another responsibility is to the school and district. Mentors assist other first- and second-year teachers; work with small groups of students and offer professional development. The final responsibility is to MU. Mentors supervise MU interns, SYOSP students, complete an action-based research project (first year) or teach the class (second year) and act as liaisons for schools.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n At Walker, Teaching Fellows Becky Coleman and Katie Sullivan enjoy the staff support and described a challenge to entering a classroom for the first time as the full-time teacher.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n \u201cThe support we have here is great,\u201d Coleman said. \u201cI\u2019m not just on my own; I always have someone to go to if I have a question.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n Sullivan illustrated a stark difference between stepping into a teacher\u2019s shoes for a day versus having to do it all on her own.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n \u201cIn student teaching, I could ease my way in and figure out the classroom expectations,\u201d Sullivan said. \u201cThis year, creating my own environment and expectations were much more difficult.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n Coleman said her MU Fellows mentor at Walker, Stephanie Thompson, provides feedback for improvement. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n \u201cI think it\u2019s going really well for the Fellows,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cI am gaining so much, too. Just observing new teachers give me new ideas to try in the classroom. First-year teachers get so much support in this program, grade-level team support, plus my efforts. I know as a first-year teacher, it would have been awesome to have this kind of support.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n Kim Everding, a second grade teacher at Lawson who participated in the Fellows program last year, explained how she laid her teaching foundations before enrolling in the program.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n \u201cI spent a lot of time in high school tutoring,\u201d she said. \u201cI really like kids and I really like this program.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n Gentry took a moment to praise Everding for her work.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n \u201cOn walkthroughs, administrators will exit her room and discuss what she taught. Our principal, Dr. Betty Scheller, tells them, \u2018She\u2019s a first year teacher,\u2019 and the administrators are amazed,\u201d Gentry said.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n Kristen Hoberg, another former Fellow, teaches third grade at Lawson this year. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n \u201cThe biggest struggle is at the beginning of the year and classroom management,\u201d Hoberg said. \u201cI found a balance between being a nice teacher and being a strict teacher. This year has gone much more smoothly because I knew what I needed to do and when to do it.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n Jamie Lomax, Shari Hutson and Joe Genenbacher are the current Lawson SYOSP students.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n \u201cWe talked about the different levels within one classroom in college, but when you\u2019re in the room, you see how different each child is,\u201d Lomax said. She has observed first, second and third grades so far this year.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n Savanna Green, a full-time fifth grade teacher at Lawson, graduated from this program. She described her MU Fellows experience.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n \u201cIt\u2019s just an exhausting learning experience the whole way through,\u201d Green said. \u201cI feel like I have learned a lot along the way. As a graduate student, I was in awe of what teachers accomplished in a given time period. Anything you thought you knew as a student teacher, you really didn\u2019t know.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n \u201cI originally wanted to teach younger students but Dr. Scheller persuaded me to teach fifth grade and now I love it,\u201d Green said. \u201cAs a student teacher, you walked into a class where the routines were established. I just took over,\u201d Green said. \u201cBut as a regular teacher, it was much different.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n Katie Bennett, one of the two Fellows teaching with Green at Lawson this year, described an aspect of teaching that appeals to her.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n \u201cI like planning interesting activities so students and I know what the objective is and they learn what they are supposed to,\u201d Bennett said. \u201cIt\u2019s been helpful to have Susan\u2019s mentorship and that of my teammates.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n Jessica Ballew, the other fifth grade Fellow at Lawson, discussed one of her favorite parts of being a fifth grade teacher.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n \u201cI like the conversations I have with my kids,\u201d she said. \u201cI love the interactions we have.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Susan Gentry, the MU Fellows mentor at Lawson Elementary School, third from right, with her current and former MU Teaching Fellows, from left, Kristen Hoberg, Kim Everding, Savanna Green, Jessica Ballew and Katie Bennett. Two elementary schools in the Hazelwood School District have partnered with the University of Missouri (MU) and its Teaching Fellowship Program. 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