Page 21 - 2024_Jour_90-5

because you get the freedom to say, I mean, it’s just blank slate...I think it’s
important to in any sort of learning experience, like I know, there are some
things I do because of Mrs. Cross and the things that she’s taught me, there
are some things I do because of the things [another teacher at the school] and
my mom have taught me and other people who aren’t even educators. You
take pieces of that with you.
Similarly, Mr. Davis from District D stated, “We’ve got the two right now that that
are finishing up. And both have done fantastic jobs. And both of these have been
offered full-time positions.” Mr. Davis’s words aligned with Dr. Adams’s comments
to show they fit in with the school system.
The interns’ experiences were also important for district and university decision-
makers. In the second part of Ms. Franklin’s definition of success, she said,
When they say the next year that they’re going to participate [remain in the
district], that means that the program wasn’t awful. I know that they’ve had
a great experience. I know that they’ve been supported. Also, when they
contact me or the college supervisors contact me and tell me what a great
experience they’ve had.
Likewise, Dr. Matthews wanted her interns to have great experiences. She said she
viewed success when the P–12 students had a good experience. She stated, “Of
course, I like the K–12 kids to have a good experience.” She also acknowledged the
parents as part of the process in the experience. She said, “I would like parents to say
great things about them as well.”
The final consideration regarding success was whether the intern felt prepared
to take on the position after the program. Four decision-makers wanted interns to
feel prepared to take on their new positions after the internship. Mrs. Westbrook
said success was whether the intern felt ready—and the district agreed. Although
she did directly refer to academics, Dr. Matthews described success as “getting the
position and making an academic difference with the class.” Mrs. Franklin continued
her description of success and elaborated on the excitement interns could have at
the conclusion and how she found interns to act during their first year after the
internship. She stated,
Though the excitement of those teachers, I mean, the testimonials about how
it just prepared them for their actual first year teaching. They are so much
more mellow than the regular first-year teacher who hasn’t gone through the
program because they know about the standards, they know about TKES,
they’ve had practice with classroom management, and they’ve had somebody
to hold their hand the whole first year teaching.
Dr. Bullard shared an experience with an intern who had a rocky start to the school
year. She struggled to engage her students and could not find relevant ways to teach
them. He described how she eventually learned strategies to help teach students. At
the end of the year, she felt prepared to move into the classroom on her own. Dr.
Bullard said the intern told him,
Dr. Bullard, thank you, means so much to hear that, but…I do feel that I’m
ready. I didn’t feel that way at first. I do feel that now already, but this is my
request . . . well, can I go down to first grade next year? Because I don’t want
the kids to come out of first grade not knowing some of the things that they
should have known going up to second and third.

Promoting Professional and Personal Growth of Educators and Excellence in Education 19