Clark academy helps prepare students to teach
After nearly four years, the student has become the teacher at Clark High School.
Seniors in the Teacher Education Academy, or TEACH, at Clark, 4291 W. Pennwood Ave., started internships this semester at elementary, middle and high schools of their choosing across the Las Vegas Valley. They work under a mentor, called a master teacher, from 8 to 10:30 a.m. four days a week, then return to Clark by 11 a.m. to take other classes.
“It’s an eye-opening experience for them,” Clark teacher Joanne Ho said. “They wait four years for this. It’s a really good testing ground for them.”
Clark placed 11 students as interns beginning Jan. 30, and the program is scheduled to end May 24. Students teach subjects such as math, history, orchestra and special education.
Seana Fa’asa, 17, is teaching third-graders this semester at Roundy Elementary School, 2755 Mohawk St. Three other students also teach at Roundy. Others are at Clark, Bendorf Elementary School, 3550 S. Kevin Way, and Hyde Park, 900 Hinson St., and Cashman, 4622 W. Desert Inn Road, middle schools.
Fa’asa moved to America in 2006 from American Samoa, a group of islands in the South Pacific. She said she was inspired to join TEACH because of a leadership teacher she had at Johnson Junior High School.
“I love this program because of the intern part,” Fa’asa said. “How you teach the students — that’s how they’re going to grow up. Whatever teacher you have now is going to inspire you to grow up and be the person you want to be.”
First-grade intern Julianna Thornock grew up wanting to be just like her kindergarten teacher and still does, she said.
“TEACH could let me practice teaching before I got to college, which is really cool,” Thornock said. “I wish we could have done (the internship) earlier because I feel like I’m learning more this way.”
This internship is the culmination of years of preparation in the magnet program, which started in 1997.
After taking introductory courses as freshmen and sophomores, students usually decide if they want to continue on the path of teaching, Ho said.
“The end of the sophomore year is a critical time to decide,” she said.
Ho said there were about 35 students starting in the program four years ago, which dwindled to 11. That’s not uncommon, Ho said, and not a bad thing, either, as the 11 who stay are the most passionate.
As juniors, they complete full-day observations of all grade levels and types of classes “to give them a feel for what they want to go into,” Ho said.
Clark also has a classroom designed to be an elementary environment for practice. The school solicits for 3- and 4-year-olds every year to participate in a free one-week pre-kindergarten camp. Students run the entire daycare program for that week.
As seniors, they also provide one-on-one peer mentoring for 80 minutes each afternoon for English Language Learner students on the cusp of passing the reading proficiency exam. TEACH students create custom lessons for the ELL students to help them pass the spring exam required for graduation.
Ho visits her students’ classrooms throughout the week to observe them in action. She also relies on several evaluations made by their master teachers when assessing their performance.
Every Friday, the 11 TEACH students meet with Ho to review their weeks and submit journal notes and lesson plans for the following week.
TEACH students also can take courses online through Nevada State College, which Clark pays for. Students can get a one-semester head start toward their teaching degree, Ho said.
Interest in the program has declined, especially in recent years, Ho said, because of education changes in the state and nationwide.
“The residual effect of budget cuts in education is we have less students interested in teaching,” she said.
Students also have been turned off by the higher class sizes and the emphasis on standardized testing, she said.
“Teaching becomes focused on passing tests,” Ho said. “But that’s just a small part of what education is about.”
Ho said her school estimates that more than 30 former TEACH students are current Clark County School District teachers. She said she feels confident that this year’s crop will yield more.
“We’ve still kept the flame alive. These 11 are the ones not disheartened. We’ve got 11 that will make a difference.”
Contact View education reporter Jeff Mosier at jmosier@viewnews.com or 224-5524.
