SPC alumna wins Rookie Teacher of the Year award

Katelyn Sovocool and Principal Seymour Brown III from the Plumb Elementary School

St. Petersburg College alumna Katelyn Sovocool has been named the winner of the Jack R. Lamb ESE Rookie Teacher of the Year district award from the Suncoast 176 Chapter of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC).

The announcement was made at the CEC Chapter 176 Spring Banquet held at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater on April 25.

Sovocool, 24, is a full-time Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) kindergarten teacher at Plumb Elementary School in Clearwater. She completed a bachelor’s degree in Exceptional Student Education (K-12) with a certification in Elementary Education with ESOL and Reading Endorsements at SPC.

“SPC helped me prepare to reach my dreams of becoming an educator by providing me with a quality education and an unsurpassable experience in the educational field,” Sovocool said in a recent interview. She hopes to make a difference through her career by providing each of her students with the highest quality education possible.

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Learn about SPC’s Educator Preparation Institute

The seed is planted.  “You should be a teacher,” someone says.

You’ve heard this phrase. You’ve thought this idea many times over the years. But is the dream possible? Don’t let your questions about teaching linger any longer. Attend an Information Session about SPC’s Educator Preparation Institute (EPI) on Wednesday, Feb. 20, at 5:30 p.m. at the Clearwater Campus, ES 104, 2465 Drew St.

The EPI is an accelerated, hands-on program involving online and evening coursework along with PreK – 12 practical instruction. Teacher candidates work with master educators to craft their knowledge and skills to satisfy rigorous state and district requirements for professional licensure. Applications are being accepted now for the summer.

If you plan to attend the information session, please RSVP online or call Pat Roper at 727-791-2521.

Start today and teach tomorrow!

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Panel to discuss FCAT, Common Core Standards at Village Square dinner event

On Wednesday, Jan. 23, a panel representing four key stakeholder groups will discuss changes to the Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test (FCAT). The event will be 6-8 p.m. at the Seminole Campus Conference Center and is part of the college’s Village Square initiative. To attend, register online.

Since the late 1990s, the FCAT has been the standard for measuring classroom and student success. As the test evolved, teachers and principals felt increasing stress as performance evaluations and grades of individual schools were based on FCAT results.

Gov. Rick Scott vowed to make education a priority in the 2013 session of the Legislature and to stop making changes to education. “The system is tired of change, just constant change,” he said. He also declared his intention to put a hold on new testing requirements for students and promised there would be “no war on teachers” next year.

A panel representing four key stakeholder groups will offer a timely examination of this issue. The group includes:

• Michael A. Grego, Superintendent, Pinellas County Schools
• Joanne McCall, Vice President, Florida Education Association
• Mindy Haas, President-Elect, Florida PTA
• Douglas Tuthill, President, Step Up for Students.

Bill Heller, Dean of the College of Education at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, will serve as moderator.

Village Square programs begin with dinner, followed by the featured presentation and conclude with a question-and-answer session. Registration is required. $30 for Village Square members and educators, $40 for non-members.

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SPC student among area’s emerging opera stars

College student Sarah Fechtel and Professor Marilyn Michael, both at SPC, were featured in a story posted on 83 Degrees about emerging opera stars training in the Tampa Bay area.

In September, Fechtel performed at Opera at the Dali, a collaboration between the college and the Dali Museum on the third Thursday evening of the month, the article reported. The performances highlight the talents of Michael’s young opera students.

“We’re lucky to have such wonderful students who are very serious and focused and who want to sing classical music. It’s really the best kept secret,” Michael said in the article. The college offers students a two-year associate’s degree in vocal performance. Most students go on to earn their baccalaureate degree and then their master’s, Michael said.

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SPC students take critical thinking for a spin

Stagecraft I students, from left: James Barber, Kiersten Hurst, Amanda Bedinghaus and Adam Rose.

When Center of Excellence in Teaching and Learning and the Quality Enhancement Plan faculty came up with the idea to present the elements of critical thinking through a “Wheel of Fortune” style game show, students in the SPC Theater program at the Clearwater Campus put their talents to work.

James Barber, Amanda Bedinghaus, Kiersten Hurst, Keegan Lee and Adam Rose fashioned the “Wheel of Thinking,” which was used at the Critical Thinking Institute held in early October. Faculty contestants spun the wheel and were asked questions based on the category upon which the wheel stopped.

Stagecraft I students are introduced to the technical aspects of theater operations, and gain skills in the fundamentals of scenery construction, painting and rigging, so designing and building the wheel provided a real-world learning opportunity.

“We let them use their own critical thinking skills in designing and constructing the wheel,” said Scott Cooper, Director of the theater program. “It was a great addition to my normal class assignments.”

Li-Lee Tunceren, CETL Lead Faculty Associate, contacted Cooper in late August to ask if theater students could construct the wheel. Cooper, along with Fine Arts Tech Mark Bunting, then laid out the expectations for the completed project, leaving the design and construction to the students.

Tunceren said the wheel of thinking exceeded her expectations.

“Students were engaged in critical thinking at every turn,” she said. “It is another area in which creating partnerships and sharing college resources has benefited faculty, staff and students at SPC.”

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SPC program receives Chancellor’s Best Practice Award

Martha Campbell

The college’s My Bridge to Success program is one of three statewide winners of the 2012 Chancellor’s Best Practice Award by the Florida Department of Education.

My Bridge to Success, a program in developmental writing, reading and mathematics designed to reduce the amount of remediation time and tuition costs for students, is headed by Martha Campbell and Sharon Griggs, deans of Communications and Mathematics, respectively. It is funded by a three-year Florida Development Initiative grant that was awarded in spring 2010. SPC was one of five colleges to receive the grant.

“SPC has always been a leader in state initiatives and so when the grant opportunity came along, the college agreed to match the funds we were awarded by the state,” Griggs said. “Faculty volunteered to lead the efforts and our students found the new approach to be just the lifeline they needed. We were the only Florida college to redesign Math and English and Reading at the same time.”

Unlike traditional developmental courses at the college that are 16-week, 4-credit courses, the My Bridge courses—ENC 0990, MAT 0990 and REA 0990—are 8-week, 2-credit courses.

Sharon Griggs

Campbell said the increased success rates speak for themselves. For example, in academic year 2011-12, 1,653 students enrolled in the traditional 16-week, 4-credit hour Developmental Writing II courses completed at a rate of 58 percent. The new 8-week, 2-credit ENC 0990 courses had a 69 percent passing rate with 328 students.

“The focus is on only asking students to work on areas where they’re not already meeting the competency standards,” Campbell said. The targeted instruction is offered in computer labs and involves a lot of diagnostic work. “If students are proficient in an area, they do not need to work on that skill. This targets the instruction so that it is provided when students need it and only the skills that they need to remediate.”

Campbell and Griggs will receive the Chancellor’s Best Practices award during the Association of Florida Colleges 63rd Annual Convention at the Innisbrook Resort on Wednesday, Oct. 31.

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College of Ed alumna begins third year of teaching in Abu Dhabi

Susan Mishler with some of her second grade students in Abu Dhabi

Susan Mishler has lived in many countries throughout her life. And although she made various stops along the way, her journey eventually led to St. Petersburg College, where she received a bachelor’s degree in education.

Her father worked for a company that ran airports and airlines, which allowed her family to live in many places throughout her childhood, including Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It was her familiarity with the area and the people who reside there that helped her to return more than 40 years later as a teacher.

“My parents worked and lived overseas since I was a baby,” said Mishler, 57. She is originally from England but became a U.S. citizen when she married her American husband, Tom Mishler. “I had maintained contact with some dear friends in Abu Dhabi, and one day I just decided to research and see what was available and this opportunity came up.”

Before she got married, she worked a variety of jobs, such as a personal secretary for a Japanese oil company, at the Iranian Embassy, and as a hotel receptionist in London at the Cumberland Hotel in Marble Arch.

“I was working as a Parapro (paraprofessional) back in California while my own children were in school,” said Mishler, who has four grown children and two grandchildren residing in the San Diego area. “Several teachers that became very good friends were amazed I was not a teacher and said I should become one.”

For family reasons, she moved to Pinellas County where she began working in the school system as support staff. “Then the cutbacks hit, and that is when I decided to take a great leap of faith and decided to go back to school to become a teacher,” she said.

With St. Petersburg College being so close, she decided to enroll at the Tarpon Springs and Clearwater campuses. She liked the comfortable environment and did not feel intimidated by the size of the campuses.

“The availability of the education program was so helpful to me,” she said. “I was able to work part-time and attend classes and have no stress of large commutes.”

She received an Associate in Arts in 2005 and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Exceptional Student Education K-12 with ESOL Endorsement in December 2007.

Since September 2010, she has been working for the Abu Dhabi Education Council, where she teaches math, science and English to second grade boys and girls, most of whom have very limited knowledge of English.

“The culture and language here is going through a major change in the creation of a New School Model that is proposed over the next 10 years,” said Mishler. Although the Arabic language is still dominant in the schools, English also is taught. Math and science also are taught in English.

“It has not been easy to tackle this assignment, but fortunately I had an idea of what it would be like when I took it,” she said. “Some people come over here and think it will be a breeze, and the excitement of traveling and living in an exotic place envelopes them. But it’s not all peaches and cream; it’s also very, very hard, intense work.”

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College of Ed celebrates 10 years with open house

More than 150 people attended the College of Education’s 10-year anniversary open house.

The College of Education (COE) at St. Petersburg College hosted a celebration to commemorate 10 years of graduating “effective, reflective and caring teachers” on Sept. 29 at the Tarpon Springs Campus.

The open house  was attended by more than 150 prospective and current students; alumni; families; staff and former faculty members; Tom Furlong, former Vice President of Baccalaureate Programs; and the Bilirakis family, who were instrumental in starting the College of Education. Photos of the event are available on the SPC Facebook site.

The College of Education began offering bachelor’s degrees in 2002, and later expanded to offer post-baccalaureate programs leading to teacher certification through its EPI program.

During the Saturday program, three alumni speakers reflected on how their time in the SPC College of Education prepared them for their careers:

• Heidi D’Ambrosio, Exceptional Student Education major in the 2004 inaugural class: D’Ambrosio now serves as an area supervisor for the ESE department of Pinellas County Schools and also is finishing her doctorate in educational leadership. She shared her experiences in the COE’s early days, and underscored the relationships she formed with her professors and classmates.
• Tracy Staley, a 2007 graduate of the COE: Staley was recognized in 2011 as the Pinellas County Outstanding Educator in the Year and was a finalist for the 2012 Florida Department of Education Teacher of the Year. She shared experiences of her time in SPC’s elementary education program and how well the program prepared her for her career.
• Ronda Carney, a 2011 graduate of SPC’s Educator Preparation Institute: Carney recapped how well the College of Education prepared her for teaching. After graduation, in a year when hiring was tight, Ronda was offered a job by each school where she interviewed.

A photo slide show highlighting the College of Education’s 10 years also was shown.

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St. Petersburg College to hire more full-time faculty

The Board of Trustees has approved $400,000 to hire additional full-time faculty for the 2011-12 academic year.

It is the first phase in a two-year plan to “reestablish the hiring of faculty as the most important of our budgetary priorities,” President Bill Law said.

The positions will be advertised soon so that the college can conduct interviews in February and March and have the faculty in place by late spring, Law said, instead of waiting until July or August to hire faculty.

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