March 7, 2023 – On Monday, February 27, 2023 the first group of students enrolled in the Collinsville Area Vocational Center’s education practicum class began student teaching rotations in elementary education.
The dual credit course is among three offered to encourage current high school students to pursue careers in education. The practicum provides workplace experience to students in fields related to education. Students are placed in district buildings at various grade levels based on career pathways.
The practicum course, part of the Kahoks Teaching Kahoks initiative, was a new offering in the 2022-23 school year, so Jazmyn Rivera, Kennedy Staggs, Sophia Ditter and Jasmine Howard are the first students to experience this opportunity.
“The students are helping Kahoks Teach Kahoks as they began their elementary teaching rotation at Twin Echo Elementary today,” said CAVC education instructor Shawn Geppert, “They are assigned to a classroom teacher assisting with various experiences such as grading, one-on-one assistance with students struggling in a subject area, creating bulletin boards, etc. In addition to earning college credit, they will work with elementary, intermediate and the middle school before the completing the course in May.”
In addition to CAVC specialized education curriculum, the Kahoks Teaching Kahoks future educators program offers scholarships and mentoring to Collinsville High School students who plan to become educators and return to teach in the district. The scholarships are supported through the Collinsville Area Community Foundation. To learn about contributing to Kahoks Teaching Kahoks scholarships, click HERE.