School District of New Berlin Expands Future Teacher Program

During the 2016-17 school year, the School District of New Berlin stepped up its commitment to its Future Teachers mentorship program for students interested in exploring careers in education.

Students involved in the Future Teachers program now earn college credit through the UW System and will be provided targeted guidance and support to start working on their post-secondary degree while still in high school. Additionally, the district is in the process of partnering with UW-Waukesha, UW-Milwaukee, and Carroll University to build out expedited pathways for those students who would like to continue their education in the region.

“Students who attend school in our area tend to stay in our area when they start looking for work,” Superintendent Joe Garza said. “We would love to see alumni come back and teach for the district in the future.”

Students involved in the program are paired with professional mentors in a variety of settings and assist with programming, small group instruction, differentiated literacy instruction, and more. The Future Teachers program includes rotations and external field experiences that expose students to many different aspects of educating a broad spectrum of students in a manner that supports their unique needs: advanced learners, special education, career and technical education, academic and career planning, educational leadership, community education, and more.

"I have learned so much about teaching and what type of teacher I would like to be,” said Cassi Jocz, a New Berlin West junior. "I love that we are able to go onsite and work with kids, this class has helped guide me and shown me that this is what I want to do after I graduate."

Participating students had the opportunity to teach elementary students the Junior Achievement BizTown curriculum as part of their field experience. This allows students to qualify for the Junior Achievement’s scholarship program. Students currently receive both high school and college credit for their field experience and have the opportunity to apply for summer employment through the district’s summer school program as well as at area providers.

“In addition to their field experiences, students learn about the history of education, how our current system of education came to be, the different needs of the diverse students of today and how to help meet their individual needs, different social issues that are affecting students, what makes an effective teacher, and what new teachers can expect,” said Kasi Stiedaman, the district’s Future Teacher program coordinator. “We have looked at all of these different topics through the lens of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction standards for teacher development and have brought in guest speakers on key topics such as the Danielson Framework and Educator Effectiveness and special education.”

“We believe that by proactively address shortages in the teacher pipeline, we can sustain the quality of education in our community, our region, and Wisconsin,” Garza said. “In order to rethink the way we attract and retain top talent, we need to work differently than we have in the past. We can’t do it alone, but we can certainly do our part.”