Spanish Practice!

Taryn puts her Spanish to use to describe her interactions with children from Little Village and some gifts she was given to use in her future classroom.

STEP-UP in One Word

After 2 weeks of immersion in the STEP-UP program, the Little Village Fellows attempt to describe their experiences with just one word.

Spanish Self-Defense Class

The Fellows were excited to take part in an interactive self-defense class that was taught in Spanish! They were able to learn parts of the body, as well as how to use context clues to interpret the language. Check out some of highlights from the self-defense class:

STEP- UP & TEACH Kickball!

Some highlights from the STEP-UP and TEACH programs' kickball tournaments.

Auburn Gresham - Mascot

The Fellows in Auburn Gresham needed to pick a team mascot for the kickball game against the Little Village crew. They had some trouble.

Auburn Gresham - First Day Teaching

Monday was the first day of teaching for our Auburn Gresham Fellows. This is what they had to say before and after class.

Little Village- Schools, Organizations, and Classes (Oh My!)

Monday was the first full day of school placements, organization placements, and classes for the Fellows. Below you'll hear from Little Village Fellow Dan about his jam-packed day of being both a teacher and a mentor.

Auburn-Gresham 1st Day of Teaching

Several fellows in Auburn-Gresham gear up for their first day of teaching at Perspectives Charter School. Today is the first day of teaching and community organization placements for all of the Fellows.

Star Victory

A view of the final product of our Star team building exercise from the top floor of the ISU Chicago Teacher Education Pipeline office.  Well done, TEAM!

The Challenge of Team Building

STEP-UP Fellows take on the dreaded Star in a team building exercise late Sunday night.

Little Village Day 2

Today the Fellows in Little Village had a morning community scavenger hunt, lunch in a local restaurant, 2 classes, and a large reflective seminar with the Fellows living in Auburn-Gresham. Be sure to click on the slideshow on the left-hand toolbar to view pictures from today!

Below are some thoughts about the day from Little Village Fellows Taryn and Melissa.

Little Village Day 1

Hello Family and Friends,

Today the Fellows in Little Village moved in with their host families, went through Day 1 orientation, and ventured over to the Healing the Hood event. Below are some thoughts and videos about the day:

“When I first arrived at my host family’s house, I was overwhelmed with how welcoming, comforting, and awesome my host family was. I was so glad to have connected with them right away and my nerves of living with strangers fled my body. I appreciated how supportive they were of me and Christine [my roommate]. It made me realize that a complete stranger of a different ethnicity and culture other than my own could have such high hopes of me. It reminded me what teachers should do, who they should be in the classroom, to all children regardless of where they come from, to make them feel safe.”

-Laura Montgomery, Little Village Fellow

STEP-UP... Are You Ready?