The Dr. Jo Watts Williams School of Education welcomed a new cohort of 10 graduate students into the M.Ed. Program on Monday, June 13.
The Master of Education Program at Elon welcomed a new cohort of 10 graduate students to campus on Monday, June 13. The part-time program was revised in 2020 to emphasize innovation in education and is designed for teachers who are graduates of accredited institutions and initially licensed to teach.
The cohort includes students representing six North Carolina school districts, one out-of-state district, two Latin American countries, one Central American country and one Asian country. These new graduate students currently teach in Alamance-Burlington, Chapel Hill-Carrboro, Cumberland County, Cabarrus County, Pitt County and Union County schools in North Carolina, one district in California and in an equine-assisted tutoring program.
Members of the cohort bring with them a wealth of diverse experiences and backgrounds. They teach in elementary schools, middle schools, high schools and in nontraditional classroom settings. Some have taught for as little as two years and others for as many as 16 years.
Of the seven international students enrolled in the M.Ed. program, six are teaching in the United States for three years as part of the Participate Learning initiative and they will each share teaching experiences from their native countries.
“Elon’s unique focus on innovation in education intersects well with my own passions for experimenting with education in new and creative ways,” said Robert Alvis, a sixth-year social studies teacher at Walter M. Williams High School, about why he chose Elon’s program. “I also know the program offers opportunities to connect with incredible educators from around the world, as well as the excellent faculty and staff at Elon. As a lifelong resident of Alamance County, I’ve always dreamed of being an Elon student.”
Madeleine Tapia, a 16-year teacher currently teaching first-grade Spanish Immersion at E.E. Miller Elementary School in Fayetteville, North Carolina, chose Elon’s M.Ed. Program because she is “hoping to gain new concepts and open my mind to new ways and strategies to continue being able to help new and different students.”
Ali Latorre, instructor for Rearing2Read, an equine-assisted tutoring program, chose Elon’s M.Ed. Program because of its emphasis on place-based and experiential education.
“I love that Elon’s professors think outside of the box,” Latorre said.