Wheeling Park High School’s Beyond Ed program aims to help identify promising educators before they even leave the high school setting. Teaming up with West Liberty University, this Grow Your Own program has 14 juniors and seniors who are all interested, in some capacity, in entering the education field.
“It’s a good way to connect to your community…the same community you came from,” student Landon Lewis states.
The class, offered for college credit (not to mention additional perks like the ability to have the Praxis I series test paid for), is designed for students who have a passion for both education and leadership. Students can be nominated by teachers or, showing a vested interest in education, request to join. Students participate in the class through both lecture and online programs.
“This gives our students a chance to get into a classroom and look behind the curtain even sooner. Students have already heard terminology like differentiated instruction and classroom management. It’s an effective jump start in a safe college setting. Students can learn now (as opposed to their junior or senior year of college) if this is something they want to pursue. It really is a wonderful program,” Mrs. Jaime Johnson, facilitator of course, states.
The vast majority of students in the class feel confident in saying they will major in education. The classroom is full of early childhood, elementary, special, English, and PE and Health education hopefuls with school counselors and psychology interests sprinkled in.
The students pictured below attended all four middle schools in our county:
Bridge Street Middle School
Triadelphia Middle School
Warwood School
Wheeling Middle School
Programs like this exist because of community support of Ohio County Schools. Thank you for your continued support. We hope to continue growing our own future educators that feel empowered and passionate to pursue their goals at the college level.
#TogetherWeAchieve #GrowYourOwn #BeyondEd