Education faculty engage in substantial informal work with completers because the community is relatively small. This engagement includes work with completers in both teaching and administrative positions. Truman faculty often work with completers who are employed in our partner school districts, including the Clayton, Park Hill, Knox County, Kirksville, and Schuyler County school districts. These interactions happen in a natural cycle of cooperation, wherein Truman graduates are regularly employed in the districts with which Education faculty collaborate.
School Partnerships
We have formal partnerships with several districts including Clayton (near STL), Park Hill (near KC), Kirksville (NEMO), Schuyler (NEMO) and Knox (NEMO). Two of the Memorandum of Understandings are attached here. The others are in the cycle of review this semester and are in the process of being updated.
Professional Development
The Education Department has also recently initiated a professional development series for the benefit of both pre-MAE undergraduates and MAE graduate students and completers. Ideas from the professional development plans from last year’s interns included topics such as ESOL, social justice, and wellness. There are 47 people who have RSVPed for the first event on social justice. In the Fall 2020 semester, the Education Department also hosted a two-part professional development series on the digital divide. Efforts to offer more professional development opportunities are continually underway.
Homecoming Open House
On p. 5 of the School of Health Sciences and Education newsletter, our Homecoming event was highlighted with images. Everyone enjoyed learning about the new VR and seeing some of the technological advancements that have been implemented in schools. The Open House allows completers to connect with each other and with current students.
Completer Surveys and Focus Groups
We have brainstormed methods to stay connected to alumni with emails that are not just Truman addresses, because everyone does not check those emails. The Alumni Office can help with that communication potentially. In addition, the completers fill out a form indicating where they are employed as soon as they know, which will hopefully provide us with contact information that is current.
We hope to have robust numbers with our completer surveys and based upon the data we receive from them and more about our social justice rubric, we will have opportunities to provide more support to completers. Our website has a message to completers to reach out if they need support and some have.