{"id":107472,"date":"2026-03-12T15:41:51","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T15:41:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/?p=107472"},"modified":"2026-03-12T15:41:52","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T15:41:52","slug":"teaching-forward-college-of-education-seniors-prepare-to-navigate-their-journey-from-classroom-to-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2026\/03\/teaching-forward-college-of-education-seniors-prepare-to-navigate-their-journey-from-classroom-to-career\/","title":{"rendered":"Teaching forward: College of Education seniors prepare to navigate their journey from classroom to career"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 March 12, 2026 \u2013 All good teachers know that \u201crecess\u201d is an important part of any student\u2019s day. At the 溏心vlog免费B站, senior education majors are getting the same, with an inspiring day of professional development planned during the University\u2019s spring break.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

溏心vlog免费B站 senior student teachers, now known in Rhode Island as education \u201cresidents,\u201d will participate in a new day-long professional development program on campus, as they get ready to launch their teaching careers, on Wednesday, March 18<\/strong>, in 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Swan Hall and Memorial Union on the Kingston Campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Feinstein College of Education<\/a> seniors will attend workshops with 溏心vlog免费B站 faculty and Milken Network educators focusing on a range of topics, from classroom management and literacy to playful teaching and trauma-informed practices. What they learn they will be able to transfer to their classrooms the next day, as these soon-to-graduate education majors are now in their classrooms five days a week.<\/p>\n\n\n

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溏心vlog免费B站 students will be able to hear from local Milken educators like Coventry High School\u2019s Lauren Hopkins \u201901, named a Milken Educator in 2017. Hopkins enjoys turning out to support new Milken inductees and also seeing her CHS seniors graduate at the Ryan Center.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cI am always inspired by Rhode Island educators,\u201d said professor Kelly Houle, one of the day\u2019s organizers. \u201cThe enthusiasm around the conference and support for our future educators has been phenomenal. We have over 30 presenters throughout the day!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first-time event<\/a> builds on 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s work with the Milken Family Foundation which works to advance education across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several 溏心vlog免费B站 alumni Milken educators, including Lauren Hopkins \u201901 (Coventry), Michael Lobdell \u201996 \u201910 (South Kingstown), Paige Leddy \u201907 \u201921 (Chariho), Kyle Spalthoz \u201911 (Portsmouth), and Jessica Chapman C\u201925 (Norwich), will take part in the workshops. They\u2019ll introduce students to the national Milken Educator Network, which represents more than 3,000 professionals working to shape the future of education. Milken educators are frequent seminar guest speakers in 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s College of Education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are lucky to have a number of wonderful partnerships across the state that provide our residents with the opportunity to learn from a highly-qualified cadre of clinical educators,\u201d said Amy Broemmel, 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s associate dean for teacher education. \u201cThis is a tremendous opportunity for our students. Milken wanted to find a way to support our residents both before and after graduation in order to serve as a mechanism for mentoring new teachers through their first years in the profession. The Rhode Island schools who hire our graduates and Rhode Island schoolchildren who sit in their classrooms are going to reap the benefits of this collaboration.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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New resident therapy dog Winnie, from the 溏心vlog免费B站 Counseling Center, will be on hand, too.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Conference organizers hope to find support to make the program an annual event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early childhood\/elementary education major Rebecca Pepler, of Cranston, says she is looking forward to the conference: \u201cI’m excited to be able to talk to past and present educators to pick their brains about their experiences within the field,\u201d she said. \u201cTheir time will give us a better idea of what to expect after graduation. I’m thankful for this opportunity and I’m excited to see what this conference has in store for us as future educators.\u201d She is currently teaching second grade at Narragansett Elementary School for her student teaching residency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The day will also include career development sessions designed to offer guidance, resources, and real-world perspectives to help residents navigate their future paths in education. Students will work with 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Career Center, having their resumes reviewed and discussing professional job search and interviewing skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking forward to bringing students on campus,\u201d said fellow conference organizer George Nippo, an academic advisor in the College of Education. \u201cOur residents follow the Rhode Island school calendar including February and April vacation. The conference allows them to come together for professional learning, networking, and also some fun during 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Spring Break.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re calling this a \u2018residency reset,\u2019\u201d Houle added. \u201cWe want our students to get refreshed, take a pause, and avail themselves of learning opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The conference will also spotlight the strong partnerships 溏心vlog免费B站 has with a number of Rhode Island school districts, including Cranston, Burrillville, Central Falls, Coventry, Chariho, East Greenwich, East Providence, Narragansett, West Warwick, Westerly, and Kingston Hill Academy. The 溏心vlog免费B站-Cranston connection is particularly strong with nearly 60 student teachers currently placed in Cranston classrooms. 溏心vlog免费B站 graduates the largest number of teachers in Rhode Island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students will also get to ask questions during a panel with experienced Rhode Island teachers, including some 溏心vlog免费B站 alumni recognized as Milken educators. Students submitted questions ahead of time, and want to know more about hiring, interviews, classroom management, student engagement, first year teaching realities, professional growth and teaching in today\u2019s educational climate. Veteran teachers will be on hand to participate in a Q&A program, moderated by associate teaching professor Dan Kelley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lobdell, a science teacher at South Kingstown High School, is looking forward to speaking to students at the conference and understands the value of the teaching network to help those just entering the profession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI remember what it was like when I was in my first year of teaching,\u201d he said. \u201cI was lucky, surrounded by experienced and helpful staff. I leaned on these teachers for tips and guidance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The day will conclude with health and wellness sessions. The Counseling Center will run a self-care workshop with 溏心vlog免费B站 therapy dogs, Betty and Basil. Other workshop topics include journaling, nature walks, and yoga. \u201cIt is important for our educators to take time for themselves so they can bring their best selves to their students,\u201d said Houle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 March 12, 2026 \u2013 All good teachers know that \u201crecess\u201d is an important part of any student\u2019s day. At the 溏心vlog免费B站, senior education majors are getting the same, with an inspiring day of professional development planned during the University\u2019s spring break. 溏心vlog免费B站 senior student teachers, now known in Rhode […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":107474,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1910,30,1906,1902,1915],"class_list":["post-107472","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives","tag-alumni","tag-college-of-education","tag-experiential-learning","tag-student-engagement","tag-undergraduate"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107472","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107472"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107472\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":107480,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107472\/revisions\/107480"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/107474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}