| Outreach |
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| Faculty and students in the School of Education are involved in a number of outreach projects that benefit the greater Grand Rapids community. The descriptions below provide only a glimpse of the numerous community outreach efforts undertaken by School of Education in order to support our mission to facilitate the development of competent, compassionate, and committed educators of integrity. |
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| The faculty and students at Aquinas have a long-standing relationship with the Child Discovery Center and Child Development Center in Grand Rapids. Students in the Early Childhood Development program gain experience by working with children from birth through fifth grade in a Reggio Inspired setting. |
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| The Aquinas College Reading Clinic provides one-on-one or small group tutoring while students at both the elementary and secondary levels. Students enrolled in the clinic are provided with personalized instruction based on diagnostic reading assessment by trained Aquinas pre-service teachers. |
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| Reach to Teach is a collaborative group with members from Aquinas College, Grand Rapids Community College, Grand Valley State University, and Grand Rapids Public Schools. The goal of Reach to Teach is to diversify the teaching population in the Grand Rapids area by supporting high school students from minority groups in their quest to become teachers. |
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| Students in the Learning Disabilities program spend eight hours a week with a licensed special education teacher in a K-12 building over the course of a semester. They are able to gain hands on experience working with students who have disabilities under the mentorship of a master teacher and their faculty supervisor. |
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| Student teaching is a rite of passage for education students. School districts benefit greatly from the work of these pre-service teachers while School of Education students at Aquinas gain valuable instructional experience. |
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| Faculty from the School of Education work with student council members in the Grand Rapids Public School district on critical leadership skills. |
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| Teaching English Language Learners is an area of tremendous need. The School of Education has a collaborative partnership with Wyoming Public Schools to prepare teachers for certification to help meet the need of this under-serviced area. In addition, each semester over 20 Aquinas students travel to elementary schools in the greater Grand Rapids area to tutor English Language Learners in the classroom setting. |
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| The Conductive Learning Center, established by Aquinas College in 1998, offers programs for children from infancy to adolescence. Students in the Physically or Otherwise Health Impaired Program at Aquinas gain hands on experience working with children who have cerebral palsy, spina bifida and other motor challenges to help them become as independent as possible. |
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| Science Camp is an outreach project that involves Aquinas students serving as teachers and mentors to fourth through sixth grade students studying Science. |
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| Perhaps the most widely valued outreach efforts are coordinated by the students at Aquinas College. Numerous pre-service teachers in the School of Education are involved in student chapters of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), Learning Disabilities Association (LDA), and/or the Early Childhood Club (ECC). Whether it is a desire to put a book in the hand of every child in the Grand Rapids area or holding auctions to raise money for children with physical disabilities, the students at Aquinas are truly dedicated to making a difference in society. |
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| Faculty at the School of Education actively reach out to the professional community by sharing their research at local, state, national, and international conferences. Each year, conferences and workshops are held on the campus of Aquinas College that are designed to support pre-service teachers and current practitioners. Faculty members are the authors of books, book chapters, and journal articles. They are serving in leadership capacities on various boards and in professional organizations. |
