Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com
Published - Friday, February 22, 2008
Autumn Grooms: Onalaska school working with UW-L
ONALASKA, Wis. — Elementary-age kids aren’t the only ones being taught at Irving Pertzsch Elementary School. They have been joined this semester by students enrolled in a UW-La Crosse elementary/middle level science methods class.
The UW-La Crosse education students make regular treks to the Onalaska school for the class, taught by Eric Brunsell, UW-L assistant professor of science education, and spend time working with the Pertzsch children as part of their clinical experience.
It’s called a Professional Development School, and at Pertzsch it focuses on science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM. The district’s Onalaska Middle and Eagle Bluff Elementary also have programs, but they concentrate on other subject areas.
Thanks to the program, pre-service teachers are able to spend more time learning the job they are going into, said Tim Gerber, associate professor in biology, who is working with Brunsell and Jennifer Kosiak, assistant professor of mathematics, to help Pertzsch become one of only a few STEM-PDS programs nationwide.
“It’s no different than a medical student going to medical school spending time in a hospital,” Gerber said. “We don’t want them to look at pictures and then go operate. It’s no different for teachers.”
Fran Finco, Onalaska curriculum director, said the partnerships provide district teachers, parents and all students with a unique experience that would be difficult to duplicate.
It offers fresh ideas, Finco said, and a lower teacher-to-student ratio.
“Instead of spending 30 hours in a classroom, they (UW-L students) might spend 100 or 120 hours,” he said. “The university students tell us it is an invaluable experience to spend that time with classroom teachers.”
Gerber said having the STEM-PDS at Pertzsch could help foster more students to pursue those fields.
“There is a huge interest from kind of an economic standpoint,” Gerber said. “We don’t want everyone to be scientists and mathematicians, but general citizens should be familiar with science and math.”
The La Crosse School District has two professional development schools, at Logan High School and North Woods International School.
A teacher resource day on STEM and social studies will be held for prekindergarten to eighth-grade staff from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. April 21 at the Alice Hagar Curriculum Resources Center, Murphy Library, UW-La Crosse.
Classroom teachers, LMC staff, reading specialists, special education teachers, administrators and anyone else interested in science, technology, engineering, math or social studies can participate.
Participants can register either for the 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. session or the 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. session, or stay for both.
The event and campus parking are free, but space is limited.
For more information or to register, call (608) 785-6977 or e-mail Gerber at gerber.dani@uwlax.edu by March 21.
Autumn Grooms can be reached at (608) 791-8424 or agrooms@lacrossetribune.com.
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