Marshall University Foundation
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Thursday, May 15, 2008
Contact: Dave Wellman, Director of Communications, (304) 696-7153
Marshall University’s Early Education Outreach Program receives $300,000 from Benedum Foundation
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. –Marshall University has received a $300,000 award from the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation to expand a statewide Pre-K professional development initiative that will impact Pre-K educators throughout West Virginia, according to Monica DellaMea, director of the Marshall University Early Education Outreach Program (MUEEOP).
The MUEEOP, a service program of the Marshall University College of Education and Human Services, will expand its current capabilities to provide sustained professional development for West Virginia Pre-K teachers throughout the state. An initial $300,000 award from the Benedum Foundation in June 2006 allowed the program to be piloted in 10 West Virginia counties over the past two years.
“Ms. DellaMea and the Outreach team have done an exceptional job of providing early education teachers with a way to engage all students in inquiry, critical thinking and problem solving,” said Dr. Rosalyn Templeton, executive dean of the College of Education and Human Services. “With such learning experiences, these students will excel in their schools and communities.”
DellaMea noted that approximately 225 early childhood educators and administrators from the Pre-K, Head Start, and daycare sectors have participated in the Outreach Program’s Inquiry Support System 21st Century Professional Development model since the program’s inception in June 2006. Participants from Boone, Calhoun, Clay, Lincoln, McDowell, Mingo, Logan, Nicholas, Roane, and Wyoming Counties, as well as their collaborating Head Start and daycare partners, have received the professional development during the pilot phase.
The MUEEOP’s vision of providing sustained support for Pre-K educators has resulted in a strong collaboration with the West Virginia Department of Education. The MUEEOP Benedum project supports the successful implementation of state-mandated policies into the state’s Pre-K classrooms, including Universal Pre-K Access for All 4 Year Olds, established in 2002, as well as 21st Century Learning Standards and Objectives, which becomes effective July 1.
“The MUEEOP has certainly taught our Pre-K teachers about the inquiry model and how it is to be used in the classroom,” noted Roane County Assistant Superintendent of Schools Doris Weekley. “It hasbeen so helpful in the Pre-K teachers’ understanding of the WV Early Learning Standards Framework. An added benefit is the sense of camaraderie that the teachers are now exhibiting. It has brought Roane County Schools to the front of the pack in Early Education. The studentsandteachers are the major beneficiaries.”
“Using this approach, teachers have created dialog with peers both within the county as well between other participating counties,” said McDowell County Title I Director Jim Copolo. “Teachers have been able to reevaluate their classroom teaching styles and focus on ‘the child’ while utilizing 21st century skills as a learning format to promote a child-initiated, teacher-supported, negotiated Pre-K curriculum.”
Benedum’s award will provide funding for expansion of the MUEEOP through June 2011. Approximately 12 West Virginia counties will be served by the MUEEOP during the 2008-2009 school year. The Inquiry Support System includes a summer institute, follow-up workshops, learning community meetings, online support and individualized assistance for participants. An additional focus on integration of technology into Pre-K classrooms is emphasized throughout the professional development process.
“The continued funding through the Benedum Foundation will assist Pre-K educators throughout the state as they learn how to integrate 21st Century, inquiry-based experiences into their existing curricular frameworks,” DellaMea commented. “The state’s focus on 21st Century learning begins at the Pre-K level, and our job is to help teachers and administrators understand that young children are capable of thinking critically and gaining the positive dispositions to learning necessary to succeed both now and later on in their schooling.”
“This Project has given Nicholas County Pre-K teachers, and more importantly, Pre-K students, an early leap into utilizing 21st Century learning skills,” noted Marty Davis, Nicholas County Pre-K Coordinator. “Children are no longer empty vessels into which a teacher pours knowledge; instead, the teacher has become a catalyst that helps the children direct their own learning while ensuring that they gain the foundational skills and interest for future learning.”
Mingo County Schools Pre-K Supervisor Rita Ward also noted the MUEEOP’s positive impact on her county’s Pre-K teachers. “Each teacher has made strides with integrating the inquiry approach into their classroom since beginning the partnership with Marshall. We couldn’t be more pleased with the Outreach Program’s efforts to individualize the professional development for our county’s Pre-K teachers.”
“The Outreach Program is extremely thankful for the opportunity the Benedum Foundation has provided to implement this worthwhile project throughout the state,” DellaMea said.
The Benedum Foundation, established in 1944 in Pittsburgh, Pa., has been a longtime supporter of the COEHS and Marshall University. Its mission is to encourage human development in West Virginia and Southwestern Pennsylvania.
For more information, persons may contact DellaMea at (304) 696-6301.