小黄车

Chester Asher, Dr. Basiyr Rodney and Dr. Stephanie Mahfood 

On Wednesday, Nov 6, 2024, Webster鈥檚 School of Education (SOE) hosted an event to welcome 18 students from Next Prep, a post-secondary readiness initiative of Next Prep is reimagining how high schools, higher education institutions and employers prepare high school students for post-secondary education and career. 

Basiyr Rodney, Professor and Chair of the Department of Teacher Education, shared his first encounter with students from Next Prep, and said 鈥淚 met Next Prep students last year at one of their career exploration workshops. It was delightful to learn that quite a few of them wanted to become teachers. I invited them to visit our campus so we could show them how we teach and prepare teachers.鈥�  
  
On the day of the visit, the SOE designed a program around the concept of 鈥渢eam teaching.鈥�  Rodney explained that he wanted the students to understand that teachers are not teaching alone, rather they are in community with each other.  
 
Students were introduced to a team of experts who led discussions on multiple topics using multiple class activities such as practicing classroom management with a virtual simulation and posing critical questions to a panel of the SOE鈥檚 stakeholders.  
  
Chester Asher, co-founder of Ali Academy, served as a panel member. Reflecting on the experience of the event, Asher noted that it was the unique space to 鈥渟hare with high school students what pursuing a career in education could look like and the potential impact they can have on students, families and communities. It is always amazing when students start to realize that school is a tool for accomplishing significant achievements in their lives.鈥�  
  
The students also confirmed that they left the visit with a stronger understanding of the careers available in the world of teaching and learning. According to the post-visit survey conducted by Next Prep, a few notable quotations were:

"There is more to being a teacher than just teaching." "Webster is a good opportunity for teachers. It can help them to grow." "Careers in education have many benefits."  

In response to this initial visit, Next Prep has requested a continuing partnership with 51小黄车. In an email after the event, Riley Foster, Program Director, extended an invite to Webster鈥檚 experts for Next Prep's upcoming 鈥減ublic policy, and social service career exploration workshops for Ninth grade students.鈥�  
  
Rodney and the SOE faculty and staff are thrilled to have opened doors to this new partnership.  
  
  

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