Four Lamar University professional pedagogy students, including one from Orange County, are being honored for excellence by the Center for Research Evaluation Advancement of Teacher Education’s (CREATE) Quest for Quality Teacher-prep in Texas program. Erica Warner of Mauriceville, was nominated by her student teacher supervisors based on performance in the field. Each student nominated was honored by CREATE for their performance in student teaching.

Gayle Lynn Fairley, director of office of field work in professional pedagogy department in the College of Education said nominees are selected by their supervisors based on their understanding of assessment and the subject matter, lesson plans and how effectively they communicate concepts to the students.“They go out into the field and work with a mentor teacher and eventually take over the class,” she said. “It is like an internship program – they don’t get paid for it, but they get credit hours. They take everything they have learned in their university coursework and start applying it in the classroom under the guidance of a mentor.

The program is designed to give them the skills they need to work in the classroom. ”Warner said the student teaching experience truly helped prepare her for teaching her own classroom. She said completing her program and becoming a teacher is a tremendous honor for her. “I love working with children every day and making a difference in their lives,” she said.” It is exciting to meet and plan with a team of professionals who all have the same goal – the success of each and every student.

All four nominees have graduated from Lamar, and are currently teaching in their own classrooms in the Golden Triangle area, with Erica Warner teaching fourth grade English and Language Arts and Texas History at Mauriceville Elementary.