More Wichita State education students will continue to have greater opportunities to educate pre-K through high school students in the Wichita area thanks to a one-year grant extension.

The university's College of Education has received a one year, no-cost extension of its Teacher Quality Partnership grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

The grant was originally funded over a five-year period for $6.5 million, but carry-over funds from the past five years allowed the College to receive an extension. The funds have allowed more than 400 WSU students preparing for initial licensure as teachers to intern in 28 local schools through the Wichita Teacher Quality Partnership (WTQP).

It’s valuable, real-world experience for WSU education students, says Sharon Iorio, professor and principal investigator for the WTQP.

“Being out in the field really helps them hit the ground running when they get a job as a teacher,” Iorio said. “They understand the students better, they understand the school routines and they understand the goals and the programs in the schools.”

The grant supports recruitment opportunities and preparation of WSU students to be preK through 12th grade teachers, induction of new teachers and development of current teachers and WSU faculty.

Jessica Bloomquist, a Wichita State senior, began teaching lessons in a fifth grade class last week at College Hill Elementary School. She said she is “an extra hand in the classroom.”

“It’s helpful having classes here on campus and being able to relate those to the students you know,” Bloomquist said. “Instead of a textbook, you’re going to learn hands-on.

“You’re really out there seeing this behavior and how kids learn and respond and get motivated.”

The relationship is symbiotic. Not only do the Wichita State students benefit from the interaction, but advisors, clinical educators, early childhood care providers and other teachers who receive Wichita State students also benefit from the program.

In the past five years, evaluators have looked at results from the program, monitoring Wichita students’ achievements in the classroom and the WTQP graduates hired by Wichita Public Schools.

The current evaluation data is positive, Iorio said. Results show improvement in elementary students’ reading and math scores, and as for WSU graduates, the evaluation shows a greater number of teachers from diverse backgrounds and greater retention of teachers after the first year of employment.

In addition, a one-year extension will allow more time to evaluate the partnership and transition to sustainability once federal aid goes away, Iorio said.

Jessica Padilla, a first grade teacher at Chisholm Trail Elementary, said her class is proof that students score higher on state benchmark exams when they learn from two adults in the classroom.

“Having two teachers is always better than one,” Padilla said. “They can help to lower the number of students that teachers might have in small groups and allows us an additional adult to check for student understanding.”