Teacher Features

Showcasing Events of the Union College Education Program

Upon graduation from the Education Program at Union College, new teachers qualify for a Nebraska Department of Education Teacher’s Certificate, which allows them to teach in their endorsement area in the State of Nebraska and an SDA Certificate for the North American Division of the SDA church.

If a graduate takes a position in the public school system in another state, they must apply to the department of education in that state for a certificate since each state has their own Rules & Regulations. Most states expect that a graduate will obtain a certificate from the state in which they graduated. Therefore, each teacher who graduate with an Education degree from Union College is encouraged to apply during the last semester of teacher training.

For further information, visit the website of The Nebraska Department of Education and The Mid-America Union Conference Education Department

As part of the New Teacher Induction Plan, each new teacher is given the opportunity to fill out a survey that allows them to express how well prepared they were for their first year of teaching.

Surveys are sent both to the new teacher and to their supervisor. These surveys are carefully studied and many times changes are made in the program to enhance the effectiveness of it for future education majors.

Some of the best suggestions come from the new teachers who are experiencing the challenges and rewards of being new to the profession. Their fresh new outlook and input helps keep the program on the cutting edge.

The surveys were sent out during the last week of March enabling the teachers and supervisors enough time before the end of the semester to carefully and thoughtfully provide answers and suggestions.

As a part of the New Teacher’s Induction Plan at Union College, the professors from the Education Department visit the teachers in their new classrooms and meet the children. This visit is an encouragement and connection with graduates that helps maintain a strong interaction between alumni of the program and the college.

The professors work these visits into their schedules and take pictures to share.

Each Fall and Spring the Education faculty sets up a conference call for the New Teachers who are in their first year of teaching.

This conference call allows the new teachers to talk to the UC Education Faculty and each other, ask questions, tell about their experiences and find out where everyone else is teaching.

The new teachers who have called during previous conference calls, report that it is a very uplifting experience and they appreciate the opportunity to chat with each other.

The Spring 2007 conference call was scheduled for April 22, 2007 at 1:00 CDT. This allowed everyone from California at 11:00 PDT to Denver at 12:00 – to New York at 2:00 ADT to call in during the middle of the day and still have the afternoon to do their Sunday activities. Postcards, email and phone calls were sent to notify the New Teachers of 2007 what phone number to call.

This is part of the New Teacher Induction Plan that Union College does for their Education graduates.

During the first month of teaching, Union College Education graduates and their mentors receive a book from the Education Program at the college by the name of “101 Answers for New Teachers and Their Mentors”, by Annette Breaux and published by Eye On Education.

This book has pertinent information for the new teachers as they take charge of their own classroom full of students.

This is part of the first step in the New Teacher Induction Plan of the Education Program. It occurs after the teachers have been assigned a mentor by the principal or education superintendent in the conference or school district where they are teaching.

The mentoring program is essential to new teachers as they put together their lesson plans and begin teaching. A mentor can help a new teacher through things that they may not be prepared for by giving them advise and support.

The Education staff at Union College believes that the strong New Teacher Induction Plan is one reason that there is such a low drop out rate among their graduates.