Future teachers train for classroom

-Photo by DAVID GUNTER

PACE packs summer with intense schedule

    SANDPOINT – They come from all walks of life: Stay-at-home moms whose kids have grown up, former high school drop-outs who want to help others avoid their own mistakes, longtime employees looking for more meaning in what they do for a living.

    Their passion is undeniable, their stamina admirable, as they work toward the goal of achieving teacher certification and entering the field of education.

    This summer, Farmin-Stidwell Elementary School is playing host to the Sandpoint site for the Lewis-Clark State College PACE program – one of five sites in the state that includes Coeur d’Alene and Post Falls in North Idaho, as well as Twin Falls and LCSC’s hometown of Lewiston.

    PACE, which stands for Pathways for Accelerated Certification and Endorsement, started in 2003 with a $250,000 grant aimed at increasing the number of trained teachers serving rural communities.

    “At the time, there was a national push for a non-traditional program for career-changers who had a desire to teach,” explained Dr. Melinda Butler, Reg. I coordinator for the program. “PACE also targets paraprofessionals and others working in schools who want certification, so it brings qualified people into the program because of that.”

    In North Idaho, the program has blossomed into what Butler describes as a highly productive seedbed for future teachers. Working in cooperation with North Idaho College, the program allows students to earn their associate degree during their two years at NIC, then start courses that work toward an elementary education degree through LCSC.

    “In Sandpoint, we’re able to have a ‘grow your own teacher’ program,” Butler said. “We give back to the community in that sense.”

     Baby Boomer educators have been retiring in record numbers, with more than half a million of them leaving the schools since 2004. Last year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that as many as 1.6 million new teachers will be needed in U.S. schools over the next few years, due, in part, to the fact that many new teachers now leave the profession within the first five years. That’s where programs such as PACE enter the picture.

    The expectations for applicants is high, according to Butler, and the screening process is meant to winnow out those who might otherwise wash out in the kind of accelerated schedule required.

    “We don’t accept just anybody in our program – they need to have some experience,” the Reg. I coordinator said, adding that it can come from sources as diverse as teaching Sunday School, working at summer camp, doing volunteer work or having spent time in the workforce. “Those who come in with experience and maturity do much better in this intense environment.”

    Students attending PACE classes this summer in Sandpoint know just how intense that environment can be. The group known as the Summer I “cohort” gets immersed in courses on literacy development, teaching strategies and classroom management, while also spending hands-on time teaching reading and assessing reading skills for children in summer school.

    Summer II students – those in their second year of the PACE program -- spend even more time with youngsters in the classroom each morning before heading off to their own classes to learn specific teaching methods that focus on math and science curriculum. In the case of both cohorts, the future teachers are enrolled in online courses for the spring and fall semesters, with virtually their entire summers dedicated to accelerating the path toward accreditation by spending 9-hour days taking classes, teaching students and being observed by LCSC instructors who then give one-on-one feedback along the way.

    “They work their tail off in the summer,” Butler said. “I tell them from the beginning that it’s hard, but it’s only eight weeks and you can do it. But for those eight weeks, it is your life.”

    Once these students complete the accreditation process, their prospects for finding jobs is extremely good, according to Butler, who said the placement rate for PACE graduates is “90-plus percent.”

    Dr. Sandy Maras, principal at Washington Elementary School in Sandpoint and an adjunct teacher in the summer program, said she and other administrators in the Lake Pend Oreille School District have had good luck with hiring PACE grads.

    “Because I know I’m going to get a good product,” the principal said. “People who come out of this program just shine. Not only do they have the theoretical knowledge, but they have the practical knowledge to put it into use.”

    Sandy Doering, who works as a student supervisor and evaluator during the summer session, pointed to the unique demographics of PACE students – somewhat older learners who come from a variety of backgrounds – as one of the program’s main strengths.

     “People who are attracted to this program are at a point in their lives where they know what they want to do,” Doering said. “Their ability to meet the needs of a diverse population of kids is amazing.”

    That appraisal ties closely to Butler’s description of students enrolled in LCSC’s Coeur d’Alene Center, which includes the Post Falls and Sandpoint teaching sites.

    “We have a real understanding of non-traditional students, because that’s who we serve at our Coeur d’Alene Center,” she said. “The majority of our students are 30-something.”

    Recent cuts in federal financial aid funding have caused PACE enrollment in both Sandpoint and Post Falls to drop by about 50 percent this summer, Butler said. Still, there are approximately 40 students taking courses toward accreditation, with 15 adjunct teachers in North Idaho. Butler stepped into her role about five years ago, taking over a program originally developed by Dr. Wayne Carroll ad Dr. David Massaro of LCSC.

    “PACE has evolved from a great idea into what it is today – a program that attracts strong students and pulls those strengths out,” Butler said.

    “It’s dynamic, active learning and teaching,” Doering added. “You’re constantly modeling.”

    “And what we model here,” Butler said, “is what these students will eventually model in the classroom.”

    For more information on the PACE program, visit: http://education.lcsc.edu/elementary/pace