College of Education & Integrative Studies
Cal Poly Pomona Celebrates Credentialed Teachers
New principal all about the 'kiddos'
Local urban artist's exhibition serves dual purpose
Cal Poly Pomona's Partners in Education Sponsors 3 Future Teachers
Students Participate in Pomona Oral History Project
Cal Poly Pomona Celebrates Credentialed Teachers
By: - Dr. Helen G. Rockett
Week of 06/7/2007
On May 30, 2007 over 100 credentialed teachers were recognized for their efforts and dedication to becoming educators.
Teacher Education Department Faculty, Student Teacher Supervisors, friends and family joined in congratulating the honored guests. Each teacher was presented with a certificate of teacher credential completion and a memento of Cal Poly Pomona by: Provost Morales, Dean Barbara Way and Associate Dean/Professor Gary Kinsey.
This event celebrated those who are beginning a future dedicated to teaching!
- pictures from the event
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Robot Rally
By: - Lori Consalvo, (909) 483-9391
Week of 05/31/2007
POMONA - Students of all ages participated in Cal Poly Pomona's Robotics Rally, a program targeting elementary-school children, inspiring them to enjoy science and technology lessons at high school and college levels. - pictures from the event
New principal all about the 'kiddos'
By: JOSE CARVAJAL - Staff Writer
Week of 04/13/2007
LAKE ELSINORE -- If there's one word Sharon Seelman really likes to use, it's "kiddos."
The 43-year-old Seelman, who was tapped earlier this year to be Earl Warren Elementary School's first principal when it opens this fall, used the word liberally Thursday while talking about her passion for education and about her new job.
"I care about the kiddos," she said with a smile.
That message came across clearly to Lake Elsinore Unified School District officials when they interviewed Seelman and several other candidates to fill the post, Superintendent Frank Passarella said. The one thing that stood out in his mind during Seelman's interview, he said, was that she kept referring to the "kiddos."
"She was able to articulate a real strong passion for children," Passarella said. "That was one thing that, as a superintendent, that I found very interesting about Sharon Seelman. ... She's got a great personality and I think she'll do very well for us."
Seelman, for her part, is excited about the opportunity.
She spent the last four years as an assistant principal at Monte Vista Elementary School in Murrieta. She was in that position when that campus first opened four years ago.
Before that, Seelman, who has an 11-year-old son and a 17-year-old daughter, taught kindergarten through second grade at several campuses in the Temecula school district for more than a decade.
Teaching is something she knew at a young age she wanted to do, she said, recalling the moment when she was in the fifth grade that she first thought about a career in education. Her teacher had just made a student who wanted to get a drink of water raise his hand.
"I remember thinking, 'I'm not going to make the kids raise their hands to get a drink,'" said Seelman, who would go on to get a bachelor's degree from Cal Poly Pomona and a master's degree in education administration from Azusa Pacific University. "I was 10 years old and there I was already thinking about becoming a teacher."
Outgoing and easy to talk to, Seelman gave a quick response when asked to describe herself.
"I love baseball, Tootsie Rolls, peanut butter and the beach," she said.
Construction on Earl Warren Elementary, the district's 15th elementary school, is moving along nicely, Passarella said. The campus is on target to open on time in August, he said.
The school, which will cost the district $31 million to build and furnish, is located off Rosetta Canyon Drive off Highway 74 at the northeast end of the district. Some students who live in what had previously been the boundaries for Elsinore, Tuscany Hills and Jean Hayman elementary schools will attend Earl Warren.
Projected enrollment for the school's first year is expected to be more than 380, Seelman said. Over the next several weeks, she said, she's going to be hiring the 16 teachers who will staff the campus.
Her plan, Seelman said, is to create a campus community that fosters collaboration and teamwork among the school's parents, administration and teachers.
In the end, she said, she just wants to make sure the "kiddos" come out fine.
"If I can do good for a child and that child becomes a good individual and does good in the world, I've done my job," Seelman said.
Local urban artist's exhibition serves dual purpose
By Christina Chanes Nystrom, Correspondent
Week of 03/15/2007
Cal Poly Pomona Downtown Center will be featuring urban landscape artist Marco Zamora's work through April 21.
The exhibit showcasing the Pomona-born artist's work opened March 10 as part of a standards-based arts activities event for local children. A reception was also held that evening for Zamora.
At the daytime event children played a game of charades, spent time drawing and also were able to discuss Zamora's work with Cal Poly students enrolled in a service-learning course. The course allowed the students to use his landscape work in an educational setting to teach a variety of subjects including math, science and language arts.
Sandra Posey, assistant professor of Cal Poly's Inter-Disciplinary General Education Department, said that using Zamora's work was a way to offer structured opportunities tailored to state standards. "Many students in the class hope to, upon graduation, become teachers," said Posey.
Posey also said Cal Poly actually has an official definition of service-learning.
"Service-learning is a pedagogy that provides students with structured opportunities to learn, develop, and reflect through active participation and thoughtfully-organized community involvement," she said. "It enhances the academic experience of students by relating academic content and course objectives to issues in the community."
She said using Zamora's work was a way to include service learning, which integrates assessment and student reflection on the interrelationships between course content and community-based learning activities.
"Conducted in the community, it meets the needs of the students, faculty, and community partners and fosters civic competence and engagement," Posey added. "As the students led the day, they created printed lesson plans for (kindergarten through sixth grade) that are available to teachers who would like to take their classes to the Zamora exhibit during its run.
"Each of these lesson plans incorporates visual art, theater, dance or music with either language arts, science, social science or math."
Posey also said since Zamora's art is useful in a variety of subjects, the lesson plans are developed according to California state education standards for each grade.
"Teachers who want to come can actually go ahead and request the lesson plans from the Downtown Center," Posey said.
Jonnie Owens, community outreach coordinator for Cal Poly College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences, said his work is energizing and exciting.
"Zamora is a youthful, exciting urban artist whose work is not only promising but also colorful and insightful," Owens said. "We welcome teachers, the community and anyone interested to come and view it while it is here on display."
Cal Poly Pomona's Partners in Education Sponsors 3 Future Teachers
Week of 3/5/2007
University President Michael Ortiz and wife, Betty, recently joined members of Partners in Education to award $5,000 scholarships to three teaching credential students. The future teachers - Andrian Chavez, Joanna Hall and AnaLisa Manlic - were each praised for their academic achievements and aspirations to enter the teaching profession. "As a superintendent at Savannah School District in Anaheim, I know how critical the need is for educators who are passionate about teaching; who want to make a difference in their students' lives; and who really care about students and the profession," said PIE Director Sue Johnson, at Kellogg House Pomona. "Our focus today is to celebrate three very special students who we hope will become exceptional teachers."
PIE serves as an advocacy group in support of education and the teaching profession through collaborations with schools, families and communities. Earning a teaching credential is challenging and time consuming. It is common for credential students to spend four or five days in the classroom, so it can be difficult to work in addition to going to school. Members of PIE hope that the financial support allows the students to focus more time on their studies.
Andrian Chavez obtained bachelor's and master's degrees in Kinesiology, with a certificate in Alternative Nutrition. He is currently a substitute teacher for the Ontario-Montclair School District and has also worked at the De Anza Teen Center as a senior recreation leader. His professional goal is to become a middle school physical education teacher.
Teaching runs in the Chavez family. His mother and aunt are both educators. He is interested in motivating students to learn more about physical education and how it contributes to healthy living habits in and out of the school environment. Chavez has been involved in community services projects throughout the city of Ontario, such as recruiting adolescents to participate in various service-oriented programs.
Joanna Hall will graduate in June with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Studies as well as receiving a Multiple Subjects Credential. She is an excellent student and has been on the dean's academic honor roll for the past eight quarters. She is also a member of the Golden Key International Honor Society.
Hall's professional goals are to become an elementary school teacher, obtain her Masters of Education in Curriculum and Instruction, and down the road to return to obtain a Masters of Education in Administration as she hopes to become an elementary school principal one day. Hall also volunteers with the Boys and Girls Club of Pomona and has spent many hours working at a local animal shelter.
AnaLisa Manlic will graduate in this spring with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Studies. She already has experience working with students by providing private tutoring to elementary to 12th graders as well as working with students in the ESL program.
As Manlic embarks on her teaching career, she is interested in actively participating in the political process as it relates to issues facing education. She is currently employed as a student assistant at Cal Poly Pomona and has gained tremendous organizational and administrative skills while assisting with events at Kellogg House Pomona. She is very involved with Barkada, the Filipino American student organization on campus, which encompasses community outreach and volunteer activities.
Students Participate in Pomona Oral History Project
Week of 11/5/2006
With digital recorders in hand, about 60 Cal Poly Pomona freshmen, are out collecting slices of history from people of the Pomona Valley
The students, who are enrolled in Interdisciplinary General Education 120: "Consciousness and Community," are collaborating with the Historical Society of Pomona Valley to collect oral histories.
"Whether someone is 21 or 91, they have a unique point of view that is important to our history," says Sandra Mizumoto Posey, assistant professor and interim director of the Center for Community Service-Learning. "A lot of interviewees do not believe they are part of history, but their lives are definitely historical."
The oral histories, which at minimum are an hour, will be transcribed then catalogued at the historical society's Ebell Museum of History at 585 E. Holt Ave.
"Pomona is made up of people who each have something to add to our local history," says Mickey Gallivan, historical society board president. "It's amazing the things you find out about people when they give their oral histories."
The IGE 120 students work in teams and are assigned to people who agreed ahead of time to be interviewed.
IGE 120 is the only general education service-learning course currently offered that is designed for first-time freshmen. IGE is an eight-course interdisciplinary undergraduate general education sequence that prepares students to lead globally conscious, socially responsible, productive, satisfying and ethical lives in a changing diverse world.
Before setting out to do their interviews, students spent class time preparing questions and learning about Pomona's history.
Most teams go with dozens of questions in case their interviewees need some coaxing.
"An hour is tough to fill," says Mechanical Engineering major James Richards, whose team interviewed Marco Zamora, a local artist and clothing designer.
Liberal Studies major Jared McLeod and his team interviewed Pomona Unified School District Boardmember Candelario Mendoza.
"I found Mr. Mendoza's story about Pomona very interesting," McLeod says. "Being a Latino child growing up in an Anglo society, and having to overcome discrimination, was very inspiring. He used the gift of education to make a difference in his life and in the city of Pomona."
Mendoza's interest in history and long fruitful past in the Pomona Valley made it easy to keep him talking for an hour, McLeod says.
"Everyone has a story to tell," McLeod says. "Some of these people before the interviews didn't view their lives as being significant to history, but actually those are some of the best testimonies. Learning about where they got their first kiss in Pomona, to their view on how the city has changed over the years is great history in itself."
For more information about the project visit: http://www.pomonafolk.org/
