Fall Semester 2012

Thanksgiving Holiday

Wednesday, Nov. 21 -  

Sunday, Nov. 25

Reading Day

Thursday, Nov. 29

Final Examinations

Friday, Nov. 30 -  

Thursday, Dec. 6  

Spring Semester 2013

 Monday Evening  

Classes Begin

Monday, Jan. 7

Classes Begin

Tuesday, Jan. 8

Martin Luther  

King, Jr. Day  

Monday, Jan. 21

Spring Break

Saturday, March 2 -

Sunday, March 10

Friday Classes Only  

Thursday, March 28

Easter Holiday

Friday, March 29 -

Sunday, March 31

Reading Day

 Thursday, April 25

Final Examinations

Friday, April 26 -

Thursday, May 2

Commencement 

Saturday, May 4

_______________________ 

Paper-based

Test Dates

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Computer-based

Test Dates

Thursday, April 4 -

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

_______________________  

Get Application

 Monday, Jan. 7 -  

Friday, Jan. 11, 2013 

Applications Due

Monday, Jan. 14, 2013

Writing Samples Due 

Monday, Jan. 21 -

Friday, Jan. 25, 2013

 90+ hours

Monday, Nov. 5, 7:30 a.m.

60-89 hours

Monday, Nov. 5, 1 p.m.

Student Athletes

Tuesday, Nov. 6, 7:30 a.m.

Honors Students

Tuesday, Nov. 6, 1 p.m.

Bonner Leaders 

Tuesday, Nov. 6, 1 p.m.

30-59 hours

Wednesday, Nov. 7, 7:30 a.m.

1-29 hours

 Thursday, Nov. 8, 7:30 a.m.

0 hours

Friday, Nov. 9, 7:30 a.m.

____________________ 

YHC Education Club Presents

Guest Speaker Annie Blankenship, J.D.

"Educators and  

the Law"

Wanted: Education Club Majors!

By YHC Education Club President Katheryn Woods

This year, students participating in YHC's Education Club are gaining new perspectives about teaching. United through their passion for education, students are celebrating with a myriad of activities tailored to their needs as preservice teachers. Activities include a workshop on "How to Survive the First Month of School," a GACE Basic Skills workshop, resume/interview and portfolio workshops.  

Bi-monthly, the club hosts various movie nights dealing with political issues affecting education and trivia contests reflecting GACE Content Test sample questions and course content.  

If you are an education major looking to meet other people who love teaching, the Education Club is the place for you! We'll see you in class!   

_____________________ 

When Young Harris College began its transition from a two-year to a four-year college several years ago, I had high hopes that we could lead off our new baccalaureate degree programs with education degrees. Little did I know then what an "adventure" it would be to actually develop and implement education programs

Under the great leadership of YHC Dean of the Division of Education and Professor of Education Bill Brown, Ed.D., and our superb team of Assistant Professor of Education Mark Brunner, Ph.D., and YHC Assistant Professor of Education Sharon Jackson, Ed.D., we worked our way through the maze of requirements set forth by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, to develop and implement not just one, but seven education degree programs and certifications - and all were designed to meet the highest standards of excellence so that our graduates will be fully prepared for success in the classroom.

Their dedication and hard work has paid off with an immediate explosion of enrollment in our programs, leading us to enhance our team this fall with Assistant Professor of Music and Music Education Coordinator John Wayman, Ph.D., and Instructor of Education Ashley Carr as new faculty members and a growing list of superior adjunct professors. We've already established partnerships with 18 school systems so that our students can observe and student teach with outstanding educators in a variety of school settings.

I'm very excited about what the future holds for our expanding education programs - both because of the top-notch students the programs are attracting to our campus, and because of the high quality educational experience our soon-to-be-graduates will take from Young Harris into their own classrooms. The "adventure" really never ends!

Welcome to the inaugural issue of the e-newsletter for the Young Harris College Teacher Preparation Program (TPP) and the Division of Education. The purpose of this e-newsletter will be twofold and include communications with our stakeholders regarding important events, dates and discussion items relating to the education profession and serve as a historical record for the implementation and growth of the TPP.

The past four years have been an exciting whirlwind of activity! I arrived on campus in Fall 2008, and YHC was still a two-year college. However, by December, permission had been granted to offer baccalaureate degree programs by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). With a lot of support from the administration, faculty and public school partners, a strategic plan for a full teacher preparation program was put in place in Fall 2008. This document has provided guidance through a Georgia Professional Standards Commission (PSC) Developmental Review and the opening of the program for candidates in Fall 2011. Read more>>

October brings eager anticipation and new experiences for 21 Young Harris College teacher candidates participating in practicum experiences in diverse school settings. In late October, the teacher candidates will be traveling "over the mountain" to observe and interact with students from grades K-12 in Gainesville City Schools thanks to a partnership agreement that will allow YHC students participating in practicum experiences to spend two days in Gainesville City Schools. The students will spend the evening of the first day in Gainesville, and will have an opportunity to hear Gainesville City Director of School Improvement Priscilla Collins present "Best Practices in Meeting the Needs of Diverse Learners in Gainesville City Schools." Students will also have opportunities for diversity experiences in Cherokee County Schools and Rabun County Schools.  

"Every time I have been to Gainesville City Schools, I have observed teachers who really care for their students. It is always so rewarding to see a teacher in action," YHC student Victoria Sink, a senior from Hoschton, said. "The teachers whom I have observed have always been so helpful to me and have really opened my eyes to the joys and rewards of teaching in a diverse classroom. After observing in a diverse classroom, I would gladly teach in any of these schools."  

In addition to observing, talking with teachers and interacting with students, the teacher candidates will record their experiences in journals to connect them to course content. Journals will be submitted to LiveText each night for review and feedback from their instructors. Before the end of this semester, students participating in their first and second practicum experiences, as well as student teaching experiences, will be placed in Union and Towns counties as base schools for the upcoming spring semester. YHC Assistant Professor of Education Dr. Mark Brunner will meet with those students in November to review placements and begin preparing for spring practicum and student teaching experiences. 

Logo property of LiveText, Inc. used with permission.

 LiveText, a web-based program that permits the creation and completion of course assignments, while storing and disaggregating course and program data, is now fully operational by both students and faculty. To date, there are 15 courses with a total of 51 documents and/or assessments being used by students and faculty. At the end of the year, YHC will have collected three semesters of data that will be shared with the Georgia Professional Standards Commission, as well as the Southern Association of Colleges & Schools (SACS). LiveText is instrumental in the collection of data necessary to continue to provide exceptional courses in the field of education.

The Young Harris College collegiate chapter of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) opened the academic year with several tremendous meetings. This is an impressive time of change for the YHC Music Department with new faculty, new ideas and exciting new initiatives. However, we are most thrilled about our new bachelor's degree in music education. YHC music education students are highly motivated and driven young men and women with a passion for teaching music. Our NAfME meetings are packed with standing room only.

George Xiourous from Smartmusic worked with music education majors explaining the Smartmusic program and the advantages of teaching band using this music technology. Students had the opportunity to establish their "future classes" and experience the ease of setting up their assignments in their grade book, as well as establish their assessment procedures.

The YHC chapter of NAfME will gain teaching experience through an innovative Beginning Band Institute offered in early Fall 2012. This event will pair YHC music education students with faculty members as they instruct beginning band students in their first lessons on their instruments. The institute will focus on the basic fundamentals for beginning instrumentalists: embouchure, tone production, proper holding position, posture, breathing, instrument assembly and maintenance. The Beginning Band Institute proves to be very valuable to music education majors as they add to their beginning instrumental pedagogy techniques.

The YHC collegiate NAfME has many events and workshops scheduled for the 2012-2013 academic year as students prepare to become successful future Georgia Music Educators. All collegiate NAfME chapters are invited to join upcoming meetings and clinics.

Reprinted with permission from PAGE. Photo by Saldivia-Jones Photography.

On March 6, Young Harris College was represented at the Third Annual Middle Georgia Diversity Conference. The conference, titled "Beyond Checking the Box," was held at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. The conference involved education faculty and education majors from Fort Valley State University and Georgia College & State University. One of the many conference highlights was the keynote address given by 2012 Georgia Teacher of the Year Jadun McCarthy of Northeast High School.

YHC Teacher Preparation Program students and faculty have been invited to participate in the Fourth Annual Middle Georgia Diversity Conference on March 1, 2013. We look forward to working with Fort Valley State University and Georgia College and State University on this special diversity event next year.

Ashley Carr works with early childhood and middle grades students. She spent this past summer in Nairobi, Kenya, collecting data for her dissertation regarding schools in Nairobi's slum communities. Formerly an instructor with the University of Georgia's College of Education, she will provide new perspectives for education students at Young Harris College.

Dr. John Wayman is the newly appointed music education coordinator and conductor of the YHC Concert Choir. Prior to working at YHC, he served as an assistant professor of choral music education with a choral emphasis at the University of Georgia. Dr. Wayman was named research chair for the Georgia Music Educators Association and was appointed as a scholarly reviewer for the National Advisory Board to the editor for the Music Educators Journal.

Gina Donahue, currently a counselor at Union County High School, serves as an adjunct instructor with expertise in the area of educational psychology. She began her career in education as a math teacher in middle grades education before she transitioned into counseling in 1993. She has an education specialist degree in counseling from the University of West Georgia and has been an educator for 24 years.

Debbie Nichols, a math teacher at Union County High School, also joins YHC as an adjunct instructor for middle grades and secondary math methods courses. Nichols has been teaching math for 16 years. She has an education specialist degree from Lincoln Memorial University. 

We look forward to having Ashley Carr, Dr. John Wayman, Gina Donahue and Debbie Nichols as part of the YHC team!

Young Harris College senior Victoria Sink, an early childhood education major from Hoschton, was recently awarded the William W. and Catherine M. Kelly Scholarship in the amount of $3,000. This statewide scholarship presented by the Georgia Independent College Association is designed to recognize the importance of humanities to future generations and the value this area brings to the teaching arena. Students from Georgia's 23 private colleges and universities are nominated once annually to compete for this scholarship. A nominee's eligibility is based on his or her status as a rising senior and his or her preparation to teach in grades K-12, including a concentration of studies in the broad area of liberal arts.

From left to right: Nikki Kendall, Josh Colwell and Katheryn Woods

Eight Young Harris College students majoring in early childhood and middle grades education were selected to receive an Education Scholarship Award granted by YHC in the amount of $1,000 for the 2012-2013 school year. This award recognizes students who have demonstrated exemplary professional dispositions and maintained a GPA of 2.75 or higher.   

Early childhood education scholarship winners include junior Hilary Hawk of Powder Springs, senior Brittany Keys of Young Harris, senior Victoria Sink of Hoschton, senior Nikki Winn of Hiawassee, senior Katheryn Woods of Cleveland, and senior Hannah Youngblood of Young Harris. Middle grades education scholarship winners include senior Josh Colwell of Blairsville and senior Caleb Paul of Watkinsville.  

The first two student teachers of Young Harris College's four-year Teacher Preparation Program are Anthony Payne, a senior history major plus certification from Ellijay, and Brittany Allen, senior history major plus certification from Douglasville.

Payne is currently student teaching at Union County Middle School under supervising teacher Diane Brackett, while Allen is currently student teaching in Douglas County at Mason Creek Middle School under supervising teacher Clayton Kelley.

As part of the student teaching semester, students begin with a two week induction period before working within selected school settings for twelve weeks. In addition to their work in the public school systems, students attend weekly seminars on campus to discuss and reflect on their practices in the field. During this last semester, professional portfolios are finalized. Upon successful completion of student teaching and all YHC requirements for graduation, students are recommended by the Teacher Preparation Program faculty for teacher certification in the state of Georgia.

New Young Harris College education majors may be unaware of the professional standards associated with a degree in education. One of the earliest checkpoints in the Teacher Preparation Program is the GACE Basic Skills Test, which consists of three areas: reading, writing and mathematics. This exam is similar in format to the SAT that is required for college admissions. Prior to student teaching experiences, students are expected to have attempted the GACE Content Area Test specific to their program, which they must pass before being recommended for certification.

A good place to start looking for study materials for the GACE Basic Skills and/or GACE Content Tests is the official website. The GACE website offers helpful instructions on preparing for the GACE Basic Skills Test and GACE Content Area Test. The GACE website also offers tutorials to help students adjust to the computer-based format. Additionally, YHC's student-led Education Club hosts GACE workshops to assist students in preparation for the exams. The Division of Education library contains 48 books and grade-level specific textbooks available for checkout. Other materials are available through the YHC Duckworth Library.