This article highlights the most recent winner of NASUP’s Emerging PDS Leader Award. This award is annually awarded to teacher candidates who have shown leadership skills during their PDS partnership experiences.
The article is written in an informative, narrative style.
Due to the nature of this piece, there are no research findings. However, the article features the work of the NASUP’s Emerging Leader Award winner for 2024, Elleana Roseburgh from Baylor University. Elleana discusses the value of her PDS clinical experience on her development of her relationship-building and collaboration skills. Skills that have contributed to her leadership.
This article draws additional attention to this exemplary partnership work and may inspire future nominations for potential emerging leaders.
Institutions of teacher preparation are constantly focused on the development of teachers that will impact P-12 students for years to come. Part of that focus is the development of teacher leaders who will be the future school-based teacher educators that were so instrumental in their preparation experience. Teacher candidates in Professional Development School (PDS) communities have a firsthand opportunity to see quality relationship-building, collaboration and mentoring. All of these aspects are key to continuing to build high-level clinical experiences necessary for teacher preparation.
Part of the PDS experience revolves around the idea that such structures should work to build teacher leaders in educational settings. Essential Three of the Nine Essentials identifies leadership development as a key aspect of an effective PDS (National Association for Professional Development Schools, 2021). NASUP values the contributions of teacher candidates who show promise in taking PDS work to the next level and into the future by the recognition of such emerging leaders. The Emerging PDS Leader Award highlights teacher educators who have shown leadership abilities during their PDS partnership experiences.
The following article features 2024 Emerging Leader Award winner, Elleana Roseburgh from Baylor University. Throughout her experience at Baylor, Elleana has proven to be a positive influence on her mentors, peers and P-12 students. Her ability to build relationships is truly exemplary, and her dedication to the profession is unmatched. Through her experiences in multiple classrooms, Elleana has shown an exceptional work ethic and has developed in all aspects of teaching. She has shown exemplary leadership skills through her abilities to manage multiple projects, collaborate with peers and mentor new teacher candidates. It is through all of these qualities that she has been identified as a teacher leader who will continue to give back to the profession.
In this article, Elleana speaks to how her role as a teacher candidate impacted the school–university partnership. She reflects upon how receiving the leadership award will continue to impact her work with school–university partnerships. Finally, she gives advice to future teacher candidates so that they may get the most out of their experience. As a true leader, she shows true appreciation throughout by giving credit to her mentor teacher and school district leaders who helped her along the way.
Elleana Roseburgh
Adding significance to partnerships
I believe that school–university partnerships impact students greatly. The P-12 students are able to have new and exciting pre-service teachers come in and create bonds and relationships with each of them. I was able to create many relationships with other students outside of my classroom. Because of this, I’m able to have a strong relationship with students as they are entering fifth grade. Also, pre-service teachers are constantly bringing in new ideas and ways to teach concepts and skills. I love the impact I have made on my past students, current students and future students.
Having a mentor teacher is crucial to getting through your year as an intern. My mentor teacher was my rock throughout my last semester of internship. She helped me manage behavior, set boundaries and grow as a teacher. Not only was my mentor teacher there for me but also the rest of my fifth-grade team was there for me as well. We have all created such a strong bond with each other. During my partnership, I constantly had support from my team, administrators and the Baylor intern supervisor. I’m thankful I was able to have this experience as an intern because it allowed my transition to my own classroom to be seamless when it came down to working with a strong team.
Adding impact to the work
Receiving this award has validated the hard work that I had put into my internship. Not only taking on the role as the teacher but also an intern was challenging but very rewarding. It also has validated my ability to collaborate with other interns and professionals. My school district has monthly board meetings to discuss what is happening around and within our district. They took the time to recognize me and my award that I received at the 2024 NASUP Conference. My district had also supported me by funding my trip to the conference, hotel stay, flight and meals. I am very grateful to be a part of a district that is consistently supporting their teachers and staff.
Advice for partnership work
My advice to those who are interns at a partner school is to seek mentorship. It is okay to ask for help. Your mentors are there to help and guide you during your internship. Create a relationship with them and talk about other things besides school. My mentor teachers have now become my friends. It is normal to walk in and feel clueless and not know what to do. It’s normal to feel exhausted during the first couple of weeks of internship. It’s normal to even question, “is this the right fit for me?”. My advice is to keep pushing. The work is hard, but the payoff is even better. Another piece of advice is to lean into feedback. Your mentor teachers and intern supervisors are not there to judge your teaching but rather help you grow in your teaching. Mentor teachers are also learning from you. Interns are constantly bringing in fresh and new ideas to the field of education. Just remember that you are impacting so many lives by choosing this field of work. Let that be part of your “why.” I’m very grateful for the opportunity to share a little bit of my experience with you.
