More than 500\u00a0alumni living in the City of Harrisonburg or Rockingham County work in education, though only two-thirds of these seem to be employed in their home districts, according to EMU\u2019s alumni database.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe teachers we hire from the EMU teacher education program rank as being some of the best,\u201d says Scott R. Kizner, superintendent of Harrisonburg City public schools. \u201cI\u2019m remarkably impressed with their ability to build relationships with our students and value the rich diversity of our school system. As superintendent, I take great comfort in knowing that EMU graduates are serving our students.\u201d<\/p>\n
Within six months of graduation, nearly 100% of students who pursue teaching positions are employed in their field, according to Cathy Smeltzer Erb<\/strong>, chair of EMU\u2019s undergraduate education department.<\/p>\n EMU\u2019s education students enter local classrooms five weeks into their college careers, years before their peers at other universities.<\/p>\n Professor Sandy Brownscombe<\/strong> says her first-year \u201cExploring Teaching\u201d students come back from their stints in classrooms with eyes opened to what the career could entail. In her 36 years at EMU, she has seen many decide that teaching is not for them after this early experience as education students.<\/p>\n \u201cThe [EMU] program is set up so that students who do not acquire beginning-level teaching skills or professional attributes do not make it through the program and are counseled toward another avenue of life\u2019s calling,\u201d observes Bill Sprinkel, who spent 40 years in the Rockingham County School system before retiring from his supervisor of instruction role a few years ago.<\/p>\n By the time they are seniors in their college careers, EMU\u2019s student-teachers are serious and self-assured in their callings, not wavering in their chosen paths. \u201cThey come prepared and academically strong,\u201d says Lacey Spring Elementary principal Donna Robinson, who has observed student-teachers and graduates for 16 years as an administrator. \u201cThey\u2019re always ready to do over and beyond, to help with extracurricular activities \u2013 beyond the school day.\u201d<\/p>\n Charlette McQuilkin, Rockingham director of student assessment, calls teaching a \u201cpeople business,\u201d and believes EMU graduates get that. They employ a uniquely \u201cloving and caring attitude toward students,\u201d says Robinson, plus they are also exceptional at self-assessment.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can tell someone held them accountable in their education,\u201d says Anne Lintner, principal at Keister Elementary in Harrisonburg.<\/p>\n EMU\u2019s reflective teaching model centers on constantly assessing how teaching strategies are impacting students, and how these can be improved. \u201cOur students, and therefore our teachers, are seen as people who are committed to the work of teaching\u2026 they\u2019re not ones who just punch the clock,\u201d says Smeltzer Erb of EMU\u2019s undergraduate education program. \u201cAs a result, they truly learn to care about their students academically and socially; how is this student thriving with peers or in the home setting?<\/p>\n \u201cBecoming a teacher is a lifelong process of continuous reflection,\u201d she adds. \u201cOur grads are doing that in schools, and that makes them stand out.\u201d<\/p>\n