TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV)— Class is in session and not just for the kids in the Vigo County School Corporation, but for students at Ivy Tech who are a part of the Educational Assistants’ program.
Ivy Tech students go to schools in Vigo County and provide educational assistants at the schools where they are already working. This will allow students at Ivy Tech to get real hands-on job training and go to school, all while still being able to keep a full-time job and raise a family if they desire.
Lynsey Dowell is the educational assistant at Rio Grande Elementary and she already had an interest in being a teacher and working in a program like this and knew when a program like this started at Ivy Tech, it would be perfect for her.
“You’re not taking the classes and then all of a sudden you start working as a teacher and then maybe you decide you don’t like it, maybe you decide it’s not the right fit for you,” Dowell said. “So I think that it’s great that they do it while you’re still getting the field experience being the EA, while still taking the classes, and the classes are nice because they are after school.”
Kelly Stout is the Education Department Chair and an Associate Professor at Ivy Tech and sees a program like this benefiting many people in many different ways.
“One of the skills that they’re working on is just being in the classroom and being able to adapt, because being a teacher is completely about adaptability,” Stout said. “They’re working on lesson plans. They’re working on understanding what it’s like to have a variety of students in the classroom. Such as maybe someone who has English as a second language, or someone who is special needs or an exceptional learner.”
This program is for two years at Ivy Tech. Once students are done with this program, they can transfer to a four-year college to finish up what they need to complete their teaching degree.
