Serving Our Communities (Premier, Summer 2018)

COE programs aim to increase the number and diversity of educators

	CAPS: Cedar Falls Center for Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS) is a hands-on learning opportunity to help high school students explore the teaching profession. Just completing its second year of a partnership with UNI, the program has served over 20 high school students from the Cedar Valley (called associates). CAPS includes a course held on the UNI campus and a field experience completed in partnership with various schools in the Cedar Valley. Next year’s program will serve nearly 40 students.
	UMETT: The second annual UNI Minority Educators for Today and Tomorrow (UMETT) Academy will be held June 17-22, 2018. The program was developed to address the shortage of teachers of color across the state and nation. This year’s Academy will involve high school students from districts around the state. Forty-five students will participate, up from 15 in 2017. The participants will be accompanied by teachers from their district, who are also involved in curriculum development for the program.
	Waterloo Early Childhood Career Center: In Fall 2017, Waterloo Schools added Early Childhood Education to their newly-developed Career Center. Fifteen students from East and West High spend part of each day at Elk Run Preschool for introductory early education classes and field experiences with preschoolers. Both UNI and Hawkeye Community College faculty are supporting the program in various ways. UNI's early childhood education faculty recently hosted a day of learning for the Early Childhood Education Career Center participants. A tour of UNI Child Development Center and campus was followed by engaging in hands-on STEAM activities in the Regents' Center for Early Developmental Education and meeting with a COE academic advisor.
	Teach Waterloo: In early 2018, the College of Education received a grant from the McElroy Trust to support the enrollment of an initial cohort of Waterloo school support staff members (e.g., paraprofessionals, Behavior Intervention Specialists) of color in UNI’s Elementary Education-Teaching K-6 B.A. program. Following successful completion of the program and student teaching, these “Teach Waterloo Fellows” will be eligible for an Iowa teaching license for grades K-6. It is hoped that they would then go on to teach in Waterloo schools.

Youth Academy Cafés open a dialogue between area youth, community members

In 2017-18, the UNI Institute for Youth Leaders held a series of four Youth Academy Cafes. Planned, organized and implemented by doctoral students in the Allied Health, Recreation and Community Services Ed.D. intensive area, the program aims to foster an interactive dialogue among and between young people and community members. Each event focused on a different group of youth, including students from East and West High Schools in Waterloo, UNI international students, and junior high students in Cedar Falls.

Ed Leadership faculty help Iowa superintendents confront challenges

On April 19, UNI’s Institute for Educational Leadership hosted a Leadership Think Tank in Des Moines, its fourth such event in the past two years. Many participants were UNI grads now serving as superintendents. At the Think Tanks, participants engage in dialogue regarding challenges they are facing in their districts using a facilitated process for giving feedback to colleagues.