Ashland University’s ‘Teacher Network’ Program Plans Events for Osborn Intermediate School Students
9/6/12 ASHLAND, Ohio -- Students in Ashland University’s Schar College of Education will be working with intermediate school students from Ashland City Schools as part of a new “Teacher Network” program at the university.
The “Teacher Network” program places first semester freshman teacher education students in a living-learning community during their freshman year.
As part of the program this year, these Ashland University students will meet with parents and students from Ashland’s Osborn Intermediate School on Wednesday, Sept. 19, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. This is an introductory meeting in which details of the program with Osborn students will be communicated.
The Ashland University students will then host these intermediate school students at the Ropes Course located at Springmill Learning Center in Mansfield. Fourth graders will visit the ropes course on Oct. 2, fifth graders will visit the course on Oct. 3 and sixth graders will visit the course on Oct. 4.
The program will culminate on Saturday, Oct. 27, when the Teacher Network students will accompany the Osborn School participants to the 1 p.m. Ashland University vs. Findlay football game.
“We believe the networking with students from Osborn is a win-win program for both Ashland University and the city schools,” said Dr. Jim Van Keuren, dean of the Schar College of Education. “It gives Ashland University students experience in working with fourth, fifth and sixth grade students as part of an out-of-the-classroom project and also provides the Osborn students with a chance to be involved in challenging outdoor personal development and team building activities.”
Van Keuren believes that Ashland University’s newly created “Teacher Network” program will be a benefit to those students studying teacher education at Ashland University.
“Students in this new program will better connect to Ashland University, optimize their opportunities to enhance their career path through networking, build relationships with faculty and fellow College of Education students, and experience a different perspective of learning,” he said.
According to Dr. Herb Broda, professor of education and coordinator of first-year experiences at Ashland University, students will take six credits each semester during their freshman year. He said living in the same residence hall, Amstutz Hall, will provide students with an immediate support system during the critical first two years.
In addition, the living-learning community will allow students to:
• create customized social events
• develop life-long friendships
• gain easy access to other students in their major
• increase interaction with faculty and staff
• improve academic performance with less stress
Ashland University, ranked in the top 200 colleges and universities in U.S. News and World Report’s National Universities category for 2012, is a mid-sized, private university conveniently located a short distance from Akron, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio. Ashland University (www.ashland.edu) values the individual student and offers a unique educational experience that combines the challenge of strong, applied academic programs with a faculty and staff who build nurturing relationships with their students.
