10-16-2022 EDU - Flipbook - Page 1
The Baltimore Sun | Sunday, October 16, 2022 1
EDUCATION
A SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION OF BALTIMORE SUN MEDIA • SUNDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2022
Salisbury University's Club Baseball Team volunteers with Wicomico County's Little League Challenger Division. Photo courtesy of Wicomico County Recreation and Parks.
Keeping students engaged
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From parental involvement to baseball and food, students stay plugged-in
By Gregory J. Alexander, Contributing Writer
F
ritzie Charné-Merriwether, assistant to
the vice president for student affairs and
director of parent and family engagement
at University of Maryland, Baltimore
County, utilizes every tool at her disposal
to see that UMBC students succeed, and she especially views one element as critical to this initiative
– parents and family members.
“Research shows that college students are
increasingly engaged with their families through
Zoom, FaceTime, emails and texts. Families can
be incredible motivators for our students and great
allies and partners for us. If there is a critical deadline looming or information that students need, if
we put that information in front of family members, they will increase the likelihood that students
will be successful,” Charné-Merriwether says. She
adds that parents know their children best and can
see when “something seems off” with their child
and help their child tap into resources for help at
UMBC.
Charné-Merriwether says that she arrived at
UMBC in 2010, and at that time, there was only
a monthly newsletter that was emailed to parents
as far as parental engagement. She was brought
aboard to UMBC to help increase these engagement efforts.
She says that UMBC switched to the marketing email program, Mailchimp, in order to better
understand the open rates for emails sent to family members and what topics parents view as most
important. “We can now tailor content based on the
data,” she says.
Charné-Merriwether says previously the open
rate for emails sent to families was about 20-30%,
but after UMBC switched its approach and platform, it increased to 60-65%. She says the open
rates are even higher for families of first-generation
students, first-year students and those with children
living on campus at UMBC.
Another new initiative is the establishment of
a Family Advisory Board to provide feedback to
student affairs. “We ask them about any issues they
are seeing with students, what we are doing that’s
working and what’s not working to engage families.
It’s also a great opportunity to create connections
between different families,” Charné-Merriwether
says. “When the pandemic hit, the advisory board
saved us. With the switch to virtual learning and
moving our student affairs programs and resources
online, the board informed us of the issues students
were having so that we could take these issues to
leadership to be addressed.” The board has grown
to 70 members and now meets twice a month.
Charné-Merriwether shared a great example of
the usefulness of the advisory board. “We had an
incoming student whose parent was attending summer orientation and English was not her first language, so she was struggling. The board was able to
find another parent within an hour who spoke the
same language and assist her during orientation.”
Other initiatives include a Family Connection
Portal to help families stay informed and virtual
and in-person events.
Playing Baseball While Giving Back
Members of Salisbury University’s Club
Baseball Team love what they do – they are able to
play competitive baseball while also enjoying the
camaraderie of teammates while doing so in a fun
environment.
Students engaged,
continued on page 7
Educating teachers
Myriad ways to earn certification
At Notre Dame of Maryland University, students who enroll in the intensive Graduate Education Institute can fulfill all
requirements in 10 months to acquire a Master of Arts in teaching.
By E. Rose Scarff, Contributing Writer
G
enerally, it takes several years of
course work and an internship year
for students who pursue teaching certification in areas of specialization. At
Notre Dame of Maryland University
(NDMU), students who enroll in the intensive
Graduate Education Institute (GEI) can fulfill all
these requirements in 10 months and acquire a
Master of Arts in teaching.
“Students complete their coursework while
they're simultaneously pursuing and completing
their internship,” says Kathy Doherty, Ed.D., dean
of the school of education. “Another beneficial
aspect of the GEI is the ability to pursue dual
certification.” Many candidates pursue a content
area or education level, such as early childhood,
elementary or secondary, while they also pursue
either a special education certification or English
for speakers of another language certifications.
Because the program is so intense, NDMU
is highly selective about the students admitted.
A small cohort of about 12 students are admitted each year. “These are students who are very
focused, highly motivated, well organized and
have the skills and abilities to stay on track and
move through an accelerated program,” says
Doherty. “But, for the right candidate it's the perfect pathway.”
Josh Mauk is one such student. A career
changer who researched various options in
Maryland to pursue his goal of teaching social
studies and special education, he found NDMU to
be the most cost effective and shortest way for him
to reach his goal. He was actually hired during
his internship to replace a Special Educator who
retired mid-year and is now shared between the
special education and social studies departments
at Woodlawn High School in Baltimore County.
To help students succeed, there is a dedicated
advisor for the program, and Mauk could not say
enough about the help and guidance he received
from his advisor. NDMU also has a course dedicated to the certification process which all students complete, and they are performing at high
levels on this. The new process is based on performance. Students create and submit videos and
artifacts, producing a very hands-on and practice
focused assessment of their teaching skills.
For working professionals who want
to enhance their existing skills in their field,
Stevenson University offers a Master of Arts in
community based education and leadership. It is
fully online and offered in eight-week sessions.
It is geared for people who work in very diverse
fields and come from very diverse communities.
The eight-week sessions are geared for flexibility.
There are a few courses that are required
such as basic theory and research courses, some
core courses, a foundations course, and course in
community engagement and leadership. “This is
helpful no matter what path you're on,” says Lisa
Moyer, Ph.D., director of graduate education,
program coordinator, SUO, and assistant professor. “There's an action research course where you
conduct research within your job, your community, whatever area you are pursuing and complete
a capstone project there where you're making a
difference within your professional community.”
Students come from such varied backgrounds
as after-school STEM programs, specialists, homeschool leaders, coaches, and teachers for learning
for specialized populations. Courses are offered in
community communications like conflict, communication and leadership, contemporary communication. If a student works for a non-profit
and works with volunteers, there is a volunteer
development course, as well as an advocacy and
community-based organizations course. Students
are also able to take business courses such as project management.
There are variety of electives that can be chosen based on the pathway the student chooses.
Educating teachers,
continued on page 7
Above: Salisbury University Quidditch Club.
See article on page 2.
Ask Margit
By Margit B. Weisgal, Contributing Writer
mbweisgal@gmail.com
Assessing Colleges:
Part Two
In the July Education issue, I provided
Part One of an answer to a question from
Geoffrey L. He asked, “My father is pushing me into programming, math and chess.
My mother exposed me to art, music,
outdoor activities and Chinese. My godmother encouraged me to write essays and
poetry. Where do I start when thinking
about choosing a college?”
In that article, I discussed the concern
around basing the decision on what you
want to study. In this follow-up article,
we’ll cover concerns like large or small colleges, local or distant, state or private, and
other areas that can impact the decision.
Small vs. Large
Think about your learning style. Are
you self-motivated or do you need more
guidance? When thinking about large and
small schools, there’s more to it than the
number of people with whom you share
the campus.
At large schools, in your first year
or two, when you’re usually working on
general education requirements, you may
have a lot of lecture classes with dozens (or
maybe hundreds) of students in the room.
You’ll probably interact more with a teaching assistant than the professor.
But don’t mistake a large school being
like this once you begin classes within your
major. Because there are lots of majors, you
could end up in a program that is just like
a small school. When Judy G. attended a
very large university, there were approximately 40 to 50 students studying the same
major. She knew all the professors and
almost all the students. Jessie R., one of
her friends, had a similar experience even
though there were roughly 200 students in
that major. But not all majors are like this.
It will depend on what you want to study.
On the plus side, there will be athletic
teams for you to cheer on, more activities
and more clubs or organizations for you to
join to customize your experience. You’ll
also have more campus resources.
With a small school – or even one of
medium size – you will get a lot more personalized attention. There may be fewer
clubs and organizations for you to join, but
you’ll get to know many more classmates.
Your classes will be smaller, you’ll have
more opportunities to speak up, and some
may be seminar-style with a lot of give and
take. You may even be able to do undergraduate research.
Ask Margit, continued on page 7