Investing in Continuing Education

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By Stefanie Malinoski

 

With close to 1,500 certified UConn ECE Instructors as part of the program, UConn ECE follows a thorough certification process to review and vet all applicants. All certified Instructors through UConn Early College Experience must meet the rigorous certifications standards set by each University Department that we work with to offer UConn courses in our partner high schools. These certification standards are the same standards used when hiring adjunct faculty members to teach the courses on campus. Many disciplines require a master’s degree in the content area in order to qualify for certification. Other disciplines may accept a master’s degree in Education, with a bachelor’s degree in the subject area and two or more content-based graduate courses in the appropriate discipline. But what happens when a motivated teacher may fall short of the Department’s standards for certification?

 

In 2007, UConn ECE began a scholarship program to assist current high school teachers who are looking to become certified to teach UConn courses in their high schools. Currently, UConn ECE offers two scholarships each semester — Fall, Spring, and Summer — to teachers who are interested in UConn ECE certification. The scholarship allows interested teachers to take graduate courses or necessary undergraduate courses in their content areas at any college/ university to become more qualified candidates for certification.

 

To date, almost 60 scholarships have been awarded to high school teachers helping them achieve certification with UConn Early College Experience. After many years of classroom teaching experience, it can be daunting for teachers to transition back to a student role. However, it is clear we work with dedicated teachers who exhibit the willingness to go the extra mile to offer UConn courses at their schools and build their professional resumes. Their commitment to complete additional coursework is indicative of their superior education and tireless efforts found at the high school.

 

For some instructors this is a process that may take a significant amount of time. In 2018, Seth Murphy (Thomaston High School) inquired about the possibility of becoming certified to teach UConn’s POLS 1602: Introduction to American Politics. At the time, Seth was already certified through UConn ECE to teach U.S. HIST 1501 and 1502 (2018) but was looking to expand his certification to include other courses so they could be offered to the students at THS. Based on his unique background and interests, he believed he would be a good fit for certification to teach additional UConn courses in European History and Political Science through UConn ECE. After his transcripts and application materials were reviewed by the Faculty Coordinators from European History and Political Science, they determined additional coursework would need to be completed in each discipline before certification could be reconsidered. While some teachers may be unable to dedicate the time or have the ability to complete additional coursework, Seth set out on a plan to complete graduate-level political science and history coursework so he could achieve certification in the future.

 

In 2020, after two years of completing graduate level coursework and utilizing the UConn ECE Graduate Scholarships, Seth achieved certification to teach HIST 1300, and 1400 and POLS 1602 in 2021. Seth says “The scholarships have allowed me to offer my students up to fifteen college credits. When I started at my school the only UConn history courses, we offered were 1501 and 1502, but now they have five different classes to choose from. I am proud that, by taking my classes, my students can earn an entire semester of college and be one step ahead of the game.” As of the 2021-2022 year, an entering freshman at Thomaston High School now has the ability to earn thirty-four UConn credits throughout their academic careers at THS. Seth shared that students can graduate high school and enter college with enough credits to be considered second semester sophomore status.

Instructor of Distinction: Kevin Mariano

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By Brian A. Boecherer

 

Q. How long at Plainfield High School?
A. I am currently in my 14th year of teaching, all at Plainfield High School.

 

Q. Which courses do you teach?
A. I co-teach the Social Studies side of American Studies with Ms. Laura Maher who teaches the English side. I also teach Modern World History (10th grade) and a self-designed course entitled “Dialogue and Rhetoric” for grades 9-12. This immersive class is designed for students to refine public speaking skills and build empathy with one another to create a safe environment to hold meaningful dialogue conversations and deliberate compromise in a civil way. I also coach our competitive Debate Team and am the Director of the Fall Drama and Spring Musical Theater
Programs.

 

Q. Tell us why you got into teaching and maybe a bit about how you see your role as a teacher?
A. In 8th grade I considered being a teacher but thought it would be boring to do the “same thing every year for 30 years.” As I headed to college to study international relations a year after 9/11/2001, I considered becoming a US Diplomat to bring peace and healing to our country. Above all else, though, I wanted to be a dad someday. After some soul searching during my first semester of college at the University of Maryland, I knew that “I didn’t want to be a dad who was home for three weeks and traveling for three weeks.” As such, history was “what made sense to me” and I ultimately wanted to “help kids now to encourage peace for our future.” Teaching high school students has been a dream come true; building a rapport, earning their respect and bonding with students is the skeleton key to my job. Those moments fill me with joy. I am happy to inform my 8th grade self that teaching is “30% lessons and 70% psychology”, meaning that each moment matters and if I am bored, I am not doing my job the right way. And, I am never bored.

 

Q. You won the Teacher of the Year Award last year at Plainfield High School and were a semi-finalist for the Connecticut Teacher of the Year this year. What would you say is core to your teaching philosophy?
A. I strive daily to build a genuine rapport with my students and faculty based on a single philosophy from Lakota Chief Crazy Horse’s statement, “We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors; we borrow it from our Children.” These connections are the foundation to building kind, empathetic, and self-confident humans who move on to help others in their lives. Upon reflection, this has been a pillar to the application of my philosophy. Our Debate Team was built from my (seemingly) bold decision to do “that” with “those kids” as some naysayers once taunted. The Team proudly competes in the annual Dr. Grace Sawyer-Jones Parliamentary Tournament held at Three Rivers Community College and consistently does well, winning the 2016 Championship. During remote learning last school year which paused the competitive Debate circuit, the Debate Team students connected to fellow students by creating “Panther Break Out Rooms” each Wednesday for eight weeks. Earning administrative approval and adding a link on the school website, Debate Captain Julia Koski reflected, “I learned about the power even single individuals have to cultivate change.” In sum, empowering students to help others is the zenith of our profession. Inspired kids inspire kids.

 

Q. As a UConn ECE Instructor of American Studies with your co-teacher Laura Maher, what sorts of things do you want the students to walk away knowing, so when they reflect on your class 20-years from now they still know?
A. In 20 years, Laura Maher and I want the students to realize that history will most likely repeat as we profess that American history is cyclical and our Forefathers’ generation battled similar issues that we negotiate today. Our aim is to engage the students to “destroy the box, build your own box, then constantly try to reshape it.” Never settle and always be working to “build a more perfect union for our posterity.”

 

Neither of us ever learned about “the present day” in depth while in our high school US history classes. Therefore, our first unit in American Studies revolves around the Obama and Trump presidencies, including, but not limited to, the impact of various social and political movements like Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter. Our students are hungry to discuss and learn about these topics. They see it daily playing out on social media and in the news, and they plead to have dialogues about “things that matter.” We explore varying perspectives with the students, and have had guest speakers including a professor and a police officer educate our students on how political and the media’s rhetoric influences their lives/jobs and how, in the end, the “goal of the movements is to achieve the same thing.” Meanwhile, the students dissect the Broadway musical Hamilton as a form of historical and modern-day commentary, casting another light on immigration, women’s studies, and building “a more perfect union.” In sum, as we cover American history dating back to the 1920s, we are constantly making connections to the modern era, so the students can better understand
the “cause/effect” of an era and determine for themselves to what extent progress has been achieved. Moreover, Laura and I stringently target the quality of student writing over the entire course and assess the students on their
ability to set new goals for the next paper (and to what extent they achieve their goals). Through all of this, students will hopefully appreciate their steadfast hard work, better understand the world they have been dealt, and feel confident to use their voice to impact our world for the better.

 

Q. We are living through some difficult social times, but Americans have lived through other difficult social times and come back stronger. Do you have any advice for the everyday person on how to play a part and make things better?
A. Americans have lived through many turbulent times, but never in the social media age. To just think that the political landscape will magically improve on its own is dangerous. Many of us have created our own worlds on our phones, liking and unliking, following the news we want and ignoring the news we may consider “fake” or disingenuous. While “yellow journalism” is not new, the “war on the truth for-profit” is cancerous, and today’s generation of students are, by far, the most SKEPTICAL that I have worked with in my career. Across the board, they appreciate that they are American, but know that adults in our society could set better examples of living up to the standards and ideals of this “City upon a Hill.”

 

To this reader, I assure you that this generation of students is watching the adults’ every move on the issues that mean the most to them: #1 climate change, #2 gun rights/violence, and #3 treatment of marginalized populations. This generation of youth is also the most inclusive group in terms of accepting people for who they are. For most teens, they want adults to know that technology is their friend and their catalyst to progress. Following the news daily can bring us to a dark place, which is why it is important to focus on the things we CAN control. In the classroom, I insist, “Make our world a better place by making your world a better place.” How? 1. Always help someone. You might be the only one that does. 2. Everyone you meet is struggling with something all of the time and it is normal to ask for help. 3. This world will be more peaceful if we listen to understand and act to compromise rather than remain tribal.

NACEP Re-Accreditation – An Editorial Not a Description

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By Brian Boecherer

 

By the time you read this article, the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP) Re-accreditation application will have been submitted. Almost 900-pages of paired syllabi, assignments, statements of equivalency, analysis, documentation, and testimony from the four-corners of the program and the highest levels of the University. This has been my third time engaging in NACEP accreditation, with my first time in 2006 when UConn Early College Experience entered into its modern renaissance. When you complete a task as big as accreditation it feels important in many ways. No matter how experienced you are in the program, after leading an accreditation effort, you feel more knowledgeable than ever before. You have synthesized huge volumes of information, have lead many professionals in a very detailed way, and have created and edited hundreds of documents until you feel they are perfect. You are ready to lead the next chapter of the program, because you see how complete some areas are and where new opportunities should develop.

 

NACEP accreditation makes me very proud. Not only because we have the status of third-party review, but because our program shines in ways that few other programs do in the nation. As you have heard time and time again, UConn ECE is the oldest concurrent enrollment program in the nation. It is also really one of the best too. We are seen by others as an ivy league in terms of concurrent enrollment. Like the character of every person, our collective and constant efforts make us who we are. We are passionate and dedicated. We work hard and value the fruits of our labor. We care. This is not only true around accreditation time; it is true every year, all the time.

 

I remember when I started with the program full-time in 2005 (having really started with the program in 1999) and setting the development plan for the office through a process of visiting all the high schools in the program to learn what we did well and where we needed to improve. The high schools and the departments—our great community—put the issues on the table and we ran with them. NACEP was an important part of that story, because it helped us set goals, meet them, and then we aspired to surpass them. The drive to surpass them is part of our character and we should all be very proud to be part of that story.

 

As the director and the curator of the NACEP application, I know our re-accreditation package will be well-received. I also know that it took a community to create. It is the UConn ECE Community that creates the program, the accreditation package is a recording of your fine work. Thank you for all that you do, I am proud to be a part of this inspiring community.

Next Generation of Student Registration

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By Jessica Dunn

 

The UConn Early College Experience (ECE) Office is very excited and proud to announce that we will be launching a “new to UConn” student registration system, DualEnroll.com, this fall. DualEnroll.com helps Concurrent Enrollment programs, such as UConn ECE, streamline and automate the enrollment of high school students in college courses. This improvement from a 5-step process has been a long time in the making. Our vision of a seamless online registration system and process is now a reality many thanks to the hard work and dedication of the UConn ECE community. We would like to extend a special thank you to University departments including the Office of the Registrar, Office of the Bursar, and UConn’s Information Technology Services as well as our high schools who instilled in us their trust and patience to improve the over student experience.

 

We would be remiss if we did not recognize and show our appreciation for the countless hours our high school Site Representatives and Instructors have dedicated to the student registration process in the past. Without their commitment to navigate the old registration system and assist students through the 5-step process, thousands of students could have missed out on the opportunity to participate in UConn courses while in high school.

 

In researching new registration systems, we were looking for a few very important features and found them all in DualEnroll.com. We are happy to be implementing the following major positive changes:

 

  • 2021-2022 Student registration for Fall, Spring and Full-year courses will occur in the Fall between August 17 and October 6. Students’ schedules should be finalized by that time, and registration should only take 5 minutes.
  • Students will Apply & Enroll at the same time.
  • Paper Consent Forms will be eliminated. There will be no need to collect or upload paper forms.
  • NetID’s will not be used during registration. The NetID is an important interface for engaging in the academic resources of the University, and that is what it will continue to be used for.
  • Student fee bills will be generated at the time of registration and program fee waivers will be processed automatically before payment is requested.

 

Dual Enroll.com will provide broader access to the high school students in Connecticut by eliminating the 5-step process that inadvertently lost students along the way, as well as provide a true college experience where students can easily register and then focus on the course material rather than the enrollment process. We are proud to implement a tool that will be true to our mission statement of providing access to, and preparation, for higher education.

 

We look forward to continuing to work with the UConn ECE Community to successfully launch DualEnroll.com and appreciate the support as we navigate the new system together!

 

 

 

Instructor Highlights

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By Stefanie Malinoski

 

Robert Ford, a UConn Early College Experience American Studies (2013) and English (2007) Instructor at North Branford High School, was published in February in the National Council of English Teachers English (NCTE) Leadership Quarterly. His publication titled Adventures in Gamification and Personalized Learning: A Case Study in Game-Based Course Design is based on a gamification project he designed for his AMST 1201 course. You can connect with Rob on twitter at @robdford.

 

Katie Boland, a UConn Early College Experience Political Science Instructor (2011) at Trumbull High School, shared the success she and her students had as Connecticut State Champions at the We the People: The Constitution and the Citizen competition. She and her students then went on to rank 9th in the nation at the national competition in April.

 

Trumbull High School We the People: The Constitution and the Citizen team at Nationals

 

 

Do you have accomplishments you’d like to share with the Early College Experience community in a future Magazine? We are always incredibly proud of our Instructors and their effort and the creativity they apply every day to their UConn courses and look forward to sharing more news of the successes of our Early College Experience community members.

 

Please share with us at ece@uconn.edu.

 

UConn ECE Marine Sciences Symposium

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By: Claudia Koerting, UConn ECE Faculty Coordinator, Marine Sciences

 

The annual Marine Sciences Symposium took place again this year, even though it looked a bit different than in past. The symposium featured student research that has been conducted over the academic year. This year over 80 students from six high schools joined in WebEx to present their work. The students who presented at the symposium are currently enrolled in MARN1003: Introduction to Oceanography with Laboratory or MARN 1001E: The Sea Around Us. The MARN 1003 students demonstrated the true experiential nature of the course by applying the fundamentals of oceanography to their field work and laboratory experiments. In addition, one Marine Science Magnet High School of Southeastern CT student enrolled in MARN 1001E presented on human interactions with the marine environment. The high involvement in this event was a testament to the dedication and creativity of high school teachers and the commitment of their students to find ways to meet and “do” science.

 

 

While some teachers, such as Mrs. Emily Lisy from the Morgan School and Mr. Kirk Shadle from The Bridgeport Aquaculture School were able to meet with their students regularly, others had to get creative. There was a presentation on methods for disrupting harmful algal blooms, as well as a study on shark behavior and how to entice bivalves to consume starch based microplastics. The Morgan School took advantage of their proximity to the water and went on field trips to conduct field sampling and analyses on Long Island Sound ecosystem quality. Ledyard High School students conducted thoughtful sampling on the Thames River and the shoreline for microplastics. Even though they had to analyze their samples either at home or safely spaced apart in school, they were still able to yield very interesting and surprising results. Mrs. Laura Francis’ Coginchaug High School students also presented very impressive research in the face of multiple hurdles throughout the year. What do basil and raising tilapia have in common? A Coginchaug High School student can tell you through his sophisticated hydroponics experiment he conducted at home! Lastly, Mrs. Kathy Howard’s student from her MARN1001 course did an outstanding job presenting on the state of plastics in the world’s oceans.

 

 

After hearing all the great research that has gone on this year in the morning presentations, the day concluded with Mr. Mike O’Conner’s Waterford High School students who introduced a community service component of their yearlong project with a 20-minute recording. The inspirational project showed students who are working with the town of Waterford to develop signage for Alewife Cove in Waterford. The signage includes information on the ecology of the marsh, its importance, and threats to its existence. Students have also proposed a new kayak launch to help protect the marsh.

 

 

This year, presenting a group project virtually at the Symposium made the most of limited time the students could be together. Even with all the obstacles the students faced this year, their work was very impressive. We appreciate the flexibility and willingness of the instructors and students to make this virtual format a success, and we look forward to next year when we can once again spend the day at UConn’s Avery Point campus together!

 

Disconnecting in a Connected Society

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Nicole Bartlett

Southington High School

LLAS 1190: Introduction to Latin America and the Caribbean

 

When I need to disconnect from a connected society I spend time volunteering at my local dog pound. I have been a volunteer at the Wolcott Dog Pound for the past 8 years. I enjoy working fundraising events, fostering dogs, and meeting the everyday needs of those dogs who have entered the pound. They have been abused, abandoned and neglected. My goal is to help them trust again, be their voice, and find their forever home.

 

 

Olivia Olbrias

Windham Technical High School

HIST 1502: United States History Since 1877

 

In today’s society we are frequently stuck to our computers because of online classes. After a long day of sitting at my laptop I like to get outside and disconnect for a bit, I tie up my skates and play some music and get active! My picture represents disconnecting by showing a healthy activity that needs no technology at all!

 

 

Min Silva

Ledyard High School

ANSC 1602: Behavior and Training of Domestic Animals

 

To disconnect from society, I like to ride horses and take in the calmness that they give off.

 

 

Alexa Davidson

Sacred Heart Academy

FREN 3250: Global Culture I

 

My favorite way to disconnect from technology is by taking my dog on hikes. It is a fun and enjoyable way to spend some time in nature and bond with my fluffy friend!

 

 

Cam Begley

Suffield High School

NRE 1000E: Environmental Science

 

Hiking is a great way to unplug from phones, TVs, and even other people. Instead, you can see, feel, and appreciate the natural beauty of our planet… and it’s that much better barefoot! This picture is of me at the top of Croagh Patrick mountain in Ireland; I climbed it barefoot to participate in the tradition of making a centuries-old pilgrimage to the summit.

 

 

Isabella Maglio

Plainfield High School

AMST 1201: Seminar in American Studies

 

This photo represents disconnecting in a connected society because nature photography is my escape. There is so many beautiful things that the world offers if we were just to take a break from social media and take it all in!

2021 UConn ECE Scholarship Winners

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UConn Early College Experience recognized 10 outstanding UConn ECE Students this year, awarding each a $500 scholarship, which can be used at any institution. Winners are high school seniors, who have taken or are currently taking at least one UConn Early College Experience course and have excelled in the area in which they submitted their project. Learn more about the UConn ECE Student Scholarships on our Scholarships page.

 

Excellence in the Arts, Humanities, or Social Sciences

 

Winners demonstrate academic achievement and a potential for future academic and professional accomplishments in a field focusing on the Arts, Humanities, and/or Social Sciences.

 

Emily Tarinelli

Marine Science Magnet High School of Southeastern CT

Literary analysis essay: Feminism in the Absence of Independent Women

 

 

Ayushman Choudhury

Ellington High School

Rhetorically effective argument video: The True Cost of War

 

 

Kiersten Sundell,

Thomaston High School.

Portrait: Am I Next?

 

 

Excellence in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematic

 

Winners demonstrate academic achievement and a potential for future academic and professional accomplishments in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and/or Mathematics.

 

Conner Larocque

Hamden High School

Video: Autonomous Siphon Coffee Machine

 

 

Grace Pendleton

The Morgan School

Model: Gothic Cathedral

 

 

Emma Bator-Blanchet

Rockville High School

Video: How Soap Kills Coronavirus

 

 

Excellence in Civic and Community Engagement

 

Winners are academically successful, are already making a positive difference in their town or neighborhood, and are inspiring others to do the same. The students chosen for this award must be a UConn ECE Student who demonstrates ambition and self-drive evidenced by outstanding achievement in both school and their community.

 

Stephen Duhamel

Montville High School

Development and promotion projects that strengthen peer interactions and wellness

 

 

Lindsay Haukom

Edwin O. Smith High School

Quaraconcerts, free virtual harp concerts offered to anyone who wanted happiness and human connection

 

 

Matthew Keating

Holy Cross High School

Co-founder of Step by Step, a nonprofit organization that helps the less fortunate in the community

 

 

Anirudh Krishnan

Ridgefield High School

Founder of the Ridgefield Music Mentors program

 

 

 

 

School Counselors Leading the Way: Helping to assist students in their school adjustment, academic performance, and mental health in a post-pandemic school setting

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By Clewiston Challenger, Ph.D., School Counseling Program,

Neag School of Education

 

 

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recently issued updated guidelines for schools for the upcoming academic year. They recommend schools to fully open and students to return to in-person learning. The updated guidelines signal a return to a new normal as it pertains to learning in a school building. These recommendations are in contract to those of the pandemic which forced a national lockdown, disrupting students’ learning, and turning homes into classrooms. Though the transition back will not come without challenges, school administrators can ease the transition by utilizing school counselors to advise them on ways to reopen their doors safely and effectively to welcome students back. You see, school counselors and other student support services (i.e. social workers, school nurses, school psychologists, school-based community organizations) are trained to provide counseling services to support students’ mental health, wellness, and personal-social development to increase academic performance. As schools emerge from the effects of the national lockdown due to COVID-19, school counselors are poised to serve as consultants and collaborators who can inform the rebuilding process of the school culture while planning for future crisis.

 

The opportunity within the opportunity
School counselors are boots on the ground-types of practitioners. These practitioners are usually in the halls, moving about the school, mingling with students and staff, all to be in tune with the school climate. This approach of having boots on the ground, creates roots in the ground by skillfully forming collaborative relationships with students, staff, and families. This type of relationship-building approach can help students—and staff—root themselves back into the school culture to feel welcomed and more involved. Counselors and other student support personnel should focus their efforts on students’ sense of belonging, resiliency, and their motivation towards school and academics. The opportunity has arrived for school counselors to sit at the table with administrators to offer their ideas on how to redesign the school environment and student achievement.

 

School counselors need to innovate to motivate
Transitioning to remote learning, for many, was cumbersome and inconvenient. Constant adjustments were needed to enable remote instruction to moderately garner student engagement, and school counselors were not exempt from this “clunky” transition. Like other educational professionals, school counselors had little to no guidance on how to effectively provide counseling services virtually. So, as in-person learning returns, school counselors need to creatively think about how to motivate students to return to school. A newly designed comprehensive school counseling curriculum should be school-wide, relevant and responsive, as well as inclusive. One that allows students to feel heard and cared for and stimulates academic engagement. It is also important that turf wars between student support services ends, replacing it with a vision of unified services. School counselors should collaboratively work with other disciplines as futurist planning for potential crises and how to deliver services without delay or disruption.

 

Putting it into perspective
First, it must be acknowledged that communities of color were deeply impacted by the effects of the pandemic and the lockdown in comparison to their White counterparts. Communities of color saw greater rates of illness, death, and financial hardship due to the COVID-I9 virus and the effects of the lockdown. School counselors would benefit from continuing their education around cultural competency as well as diversity training to successfully serve this population. In addition, school counselors should consider focusing on the noncognitive needs of their students which could lead to positive student adjustment, behavior, retention, and graduation rates in a post-pandemic era. More students having a positive outlook in these areas could lead to higher involvement in the school, community, and their homes.

 

So, as we return to the classroom in the fall for in-person learning, importance should be placed on providing support for students’ mental health and wellness as they reengage in the traditional learning process. School counselors can use the lessons learned from the pandemic to introduce new ideas to create an engaging and inclusive learning environment. We can agree that COVID-19 has changed the landscape of education and has caused us to consider new ways on how to instruct, counsel, and engage our students. There may be long-lasting traumatic effects from the lockdown and remote learning that could have a negative impact how students and staff return to the in-person setting. Research has shown that students have better academic performance and social interactions with peers when they have stable mental health and their noncognitive needs are met. It would benefit school counselors to prioritize addressing these areas to help students adjust to being in the building again. Additionally, school counselors have the opportunity to take on leadership roles in their schools, district, and community to use their influential voice for their innovative ideas on how to increase student involvement in the school and student motivation. These practitioners are best positioned to efficaciously implement these ambitious initiatives due to their specialized training and skillset, cultural competency, and collaborative approach to student and family service. Counselors, let’s go to work!