College of Education News

From kindergarten to college

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The teaching profession is more than educating students. It is also about building meaningful relationships that impact both the teacher and the students.  

Allison Kramer built a special relationship with her kindergarten teacher, Linda Wolff, that she carried with her throughout her education. When Allison was in eighth grade, she nominated her for the Golden Apple Teacher Award. Mrs. Wolff sent a letter to Allison to thank her and encourage her to consider attending Missouri State University. 

Allison is now in her third year at Missouri State. She recently re-discovered the letter from Mrs. Wolff in her old memories box. She knew her favorite teacher would be thrilled that she attended Missouri State after all and decided to send her a letter by mail.  

“I was so excited to send her a letter telling her I chose MSU. I also wanted to tell her that my current roommate was also in her kindergarten class with me,” Allison said. After three attempts, Allison finally found the correct mailing address. 

The letter Mrs. Wolff sent in response was filled with stories of her experience at Missouri State. She wrote that she thought everything Allison was doing at Missouri State was awesome, and Allison plans to write back to her to tell her to visit the campus again.  

Mrs. Wolff and Allison made a connection that’s lasted for many years. Teachers have the power to inspire and encourage students to achieve their personal and professional goals, just as Mrs. Wolff did for Allison.  

MSU alumna goes above and beyond

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Christy Osborne, a recent graduate of Missouri State University who teaches at Central Park Elementary, was recognized for her outstanding teaching.  

She was awarded the Teacher of the Year for the Monett School District.  

Osborne graduated from Missouri State in May 2022 with a master’s in elementary education and a graduate certificate in dyslexia. She is currently in her 10th year of teaching third grade.   

Osborne’s colleagues nominated her for the award because she goes above and beyond for her students.  

Using her passion to help others 

Several years into her teaching career, Osborne believed she had more to learn to be the best teacher for her students. She enrolled in the master’s program while teaching full-time. 

However, during the beginning of her coursework, she did not feel driven. She felt that her priorities needed to be fully on her teaching career, so she put the program on hold.  

She later noticed that some of her students were showing dyslexic qualities and realized she did not have the training to teach them.  

“The students felt dumb, and they thought something was wrong with them,” Osborne said. “I knew I needed more specialized training on how to help these students realize that they are smart and help them succeed academically.” 

When she discovered that Missouri State had a graduate certificate in dyslexia, she rejoined the program. She thought it was what she needed to help the struggling readers she sees every day.  

“Once I heard about the dyslexia certificate, I knew I had chosen the right college and picked up right where I left off,” Osborne said.  

During the last year of her program, she put what she learned from her studies into practice and won Monett Teacher of the Year.   

Asking for help to become a better teacher  

Throughout Osborne’s teaching career, she learned the importance of asking questions. 

“One of the most challenging aspects when I began teaching was asking for help,” Christy said.  

“Once I got my degree, I thought I should know exactly what I needed to do. I thought that if I asked too many questions, it meant that I was not a good teacher.”  

Osborne started talking with other teachers a few weeks into her first year of teaching and admitted that she felt overwhelmed. She discovered that she was not alone in her struggles.  

“After seeing teachers with years of experience still asking questions, I realized that in order to learn, you must continue to ask questions.”

Osborne’s ability to ask questions and admit when she needs help has allowed her to develop extraordinary teaching skills.   

She uses these teaching skills to help her students thrive in their academic and personal lives.  

“Making a difference in the day-to-day lives of my students is the most rewarding part of being a teacher,” Osborne said. 

“But to say that teaching is rewarding is not enough. Teaching students to be the best person they can be is the most important task teachers face.”  

As a recipient of the Monett Teacher of the Year award, Osborne has learned how to help students be the best version of themselves.  

Advice for future teachers 

Osborne advises future teachers to stick with their career through the difficult times. She said that teaching will be hard, physically and emotionally, and they will be thoroughly exhausted.  

But the challenges will be worth it. 

“The sparkle in the student’s eye when they overcome a struggle to understand something, the voice of confidence when the quiet student raises a hand to give an insightful answer and the smile on the students’ faces make the difficult parts of teaching seem so unimportant,” Osborn said. 

“These children are the future of our world. We make today better for our students; they make tomorrow better for all of us.”

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Seven students commit to teach local

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The Future Educators Program is underway as seven students join the first class.  

Each student will complete an education program at Missouri State University. Upon graduation, they will begin their teaching career in Springfield Public Schools.  

The Future Educators Program helps students from underrepresented and under-resourced backgrounds become educators.  

Students in the program will receive financial aid, mentor support and additional teacher training. 

Cass Cavanaugh, future educator, said, “I chose to become a teacher because teaching is what I love most, and I can’t wait to see the next generation grow and change the world.” 

About the Future Educators Program 

Meet the students 

Anusha Chakraborty 

Chakraborty is an elementary education major and expects to graduate in May 2024. 

She graduated from Kickapoo High School and was an A+ tutor. She competed on the debate team and was in orchestra and on the girl’s tennis team. 

Drew Irwin 

Irwin is studying elementary education and expects to graduate in December 2023. 

He is a post-baccalaureate student with a background in theater. He currently substitutes for Springfield Public Schools.  

Joshua Tofflemire 

Tofflemire is studying elementary education and is an incoming first-year student. 

He graduated from Kickapoo High School and participated in marching and concert band.  

Brandon Huddleston 

Huddleston is studying elementary or middle school education and is a post-baccalaureate student. 

He graduated with a bachelor’s in electronic arts from MSU. He volunteered as a teacher for the Black History Summer Academy. He is currently a paraprofessional for Springfield Public Schools.   

Cass Cavanaugh 

Cavanaugh is studying elementary education and expects to graduate in May 2024. 

They are the president of Bears Teach Elementary and are in the accelerated master’s program at Missouri State. 

Samantha Johnson 

Johnson is studying early childhood education and expects to graduate in May 2023.  

She is a pre-school teacher and was formerly a pre-medical student.  

Maddison Songer 

Songer is studying elementary education and expects to graduate in May 2024. 

She recently served as a mentor for the Bears Teach summer program.  

Join the Future Educators Program 

Students may apply to join the next class of the Future Educators Program in spring of 2023. 

Current high school seniors and Missouri State sophomores and juniors who are education majors may be eligible.  

For more information, contact Dr. Chloe Bolyard, assistant professor of elementary education at Missouri State University.  

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Developing teaching skills through community engagement

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Community awareness is an essential component of teaching.  

“Teachers are community workers. Effective teaching requires ethical leadership and cultural literacies,” Dr. Jennice McCafferty-Wright said.  

“This is especially true when we engage with the newest members of our community and those who have fled exploited and war-torn homelands.” 

Wright is an assistant professor in the department of childhood education and family studies at Missouri State University. She teaches courses that help students become educators. 

To help her students develop teaching skills and community awareness, Wright incorporated a service-learning practicum into her course, Methods of Teaching Social Studies in Elementary Schools. 

Making a lifelong difference 

The English Language Institute at Missouri State provides free English classes for adult refugees from Afghanistan. While the parents are in class, Wright’s students engage with the parents’ children.  

A few evenings a week, the students provide a safe learning environment for the children to learn through play.  

The students follow the children’s lead. They engage with the children in English to help them learn the language, and express interest in the children’s cultures and home languages, Dari or Pashto.  

The students’ efforts have a profound impact on the children and their families.  

“Some of the mothers of these young children are preliterate. The Taliban did not permit them to learn to read or write in their home languages when they were younger,” Wright said.  

“Now, they live in a country where literacy is an essential requirement for providing for their families. The skills learned in their English classes are essential to their families’ survival in the United States.” 

Molding to the community’s needs 

Through service-learning, the students develop a deeper understanding of their course material.  

Students can connect course topics, such as teaching for global understanding and civic engagement, to their practicum experience.  

By working with children who are refugees, the students learn valuable skills that will help them teach students from all backgrounds.  

“The students practice strategies for working with children who are English Language Learners,” Wright said.  

“They also support the development of vocabulary that will help the children engage with social studies and other school subjects.” 

It is crucial that teacher candidates learn how to adapt their teaching approach to meet their students’ needs, especially those from vulnerable communities.  

“In a perfect world, there would be no need for teachers to know how to support victims of manmade crises,” Wright said.  

“But we must teach both for the world in which we live and the more perfect world our students have the potential to create.”   

Wright plans to incorporate the practicum in future courses to continue serving the community and helping her students become well-rounded educators.  

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Education, diversified

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The world of education is extremely diverse. No two students share the same background, culture and experiences. As a result, each can benefit from the perspectives of their peers. 

The College of Education aims to effectively teach culturally-diverse students—and prepare teacher candidates to do the same.  

“Diversity strengthens our community and enriches our lives,” COE Dean David Hough said. “It undergirds our many teacher preparation programs as we strive to develop educators who can teach all children.” 

A Missouri State student teacher helps a student in this 2017 photo.
A Missouri State student teacher helps a student in this 2017 photo.

Diversity initiatives 

Several COE diversity initiatives are in place to continue building a culturally-competent experience for pupils to come.  

  • Bear Partnership seeks to increase the number of COE students from underrepresented backgrounds. Last year, 17 students attended the week-long campus residential program. This summer, 29 students were scheduled to attend. Due to the pandemic, however, it could not take place.   
  • A recruiter in Mobile, Alabama, engages Black high school students to consider MSU for studying education.  
  • Dean Hough regularly travels to the University of Arkansas, Little Rock; the University of Arkansas, Pine Bluff; the University of Memphis; Alabama State University; and the University of South Alabama, in an effort to recruit diverse faculty. The diverse faculty recruitment rate improved by 33% in the last six years.  
  • COE regularly finances six to eight faculty members to participate in a St. Louis diversity conference every year. 

Further details regarding COE’s diversity initiatives can be found on the Missouri State website.  

A Missouri State practicum student visits with high-schoolers in this 2017 photo.
A Missouri State practicum student visits with high-schoolers in this 2017 photo.

Faculty engagement 

Conversations surrounding diversity don’t stop there.  

Dr. Nathan Quinn is a senior instructor for the counseling, leadership and special education department—and part of MSU’s Educator Preparation Provider Council (EPPC). The council ensures education programs at the university meet state and national guidelines in preparing qualified school personnel.  

As chairperson for the EPPC’s diversity subcommittee, Quinn leads a team in examining diversity issues within the education department.  

“I believe we’re doing a good job, but we need to increase our diverse students within the College of Education,” Quinn said. “It’s a matter of continuing to identify those students to come to our university.”  

Dr. Dennis Rudnick, assistant professor in the reading, foundations and technology department, teaches Introduction to Multicultural Education. It’s a course requirement for MSU teacher candidates. Rudnick says the course plays an important role in diversity issues in education. 

“Its goal is to enable future teachers to become more aware of and responsive to these complex dynamics underlying education in the United States,” Rudnick said. “In return, they can best advocate for the students, schools and communities they will serve as professionals.” 

Dr. Elizabeth King, assistant professor in the child and family development department, added the college’s efforts to increase diversity requires continuous engagement.  

“If we’re doing it right, it’s not an initiative,” King said. “It’s sustained, active work in every space we hold.”