UW Graduate, Students Keep Long-Distance Relationship

Nov. 11, 2003 -- Sabrina (Woodard) Gorman teaches 24 fifth graders at an inner-city Kansas City, Mo., elementary school at the same time she is teaching University of Wyoming College of Education students what to expect in a real classroom setting.

Gorman, a January 2003 elementary education graduate from Cheyenne, last summer married Justin Gorman, a UW graduate also from Cheyenne, and moved to Kansas City, where she landed her first teaching position just one week before classes began.

"The job search was long and tough. All over Missouri, and especially in the Kansas City area, the state was cutting money for education," Gorman says.

The inner school where she teaches was an eye-opening experience for a Wyoming native. Symington Elementary's 400-member student population is nearly all African American or Hispanic, with very few white students. The school district is one of Kansas City's poorest, with 80 percent of the students receiving free or reduced lunches, Gorman says.

"I never thought I would be at a school where my students walk through metal detectors before they enter my room, but I am here and I love it," she says.

Gorman says she received a good recommendation for the job from one of her UW instructors, Allen Trent, a College of Education Department of Educational Studies assistant professor. He currently directs 18 UW students in classrooms at four different Cheyenne schools for their five-week practicum course.

"After Sabrina got the job, she and I e-mailed back-and-forth at the beginning of the school year about the things she might do with her new fifth grade class," Trent says. "I realized what a good opportunity it would be for my current preservice teachers at UW to be able to talk and interact with Sabrina; they could ask her some questions and seek suggestions from her that could benefit them as future teachers."

That first one-hour teleconference between Trent's students and Gorman took place recently and at least three more are planned this semester. During the first conversation many of the questions centered around topics such as classroom management, Trent says. They also discussed the College of Education's teacher program and areas that helped Gorman to prepare for her first teaching job.

Gorman says her new colleagues are impressed with the number of hours UW students are required to be in actual classroom settings before they graduate.

"My education at UW prepared me for my job by giving me the background I needed to walk into any situation and be able to teach. I think teaching is an ability that some people just possess, but you need to have background knowledge in certain areas such as science, math, reading and writing," she says. "The College of Education does an excellent job of getting students into classrooms. These experiences taught me how to manage time and what to expect. I had an advantage going into education since both my parents (Tim and Bonnie Woodard of Cheyenne) are teachers, so I knew a lot of this before I even went to UW. But it was beneficial to see how others do things."

Trent says he admires Gorman, who was an Associated Students of UW senator for three years and president of Chi Omega sorority, for being "in a tough situation for a first-year teacher, but she has a positive attitude about it."

He says she had to develop a working relationship with parents right away and since it is one of the poorer school districts, she had to find creative ways to overcome the lack of school supplies. She was given 25 copies of four different textbooks with no teacher's manuals or other supplies some classroom teachers take for granted.

"My students immediately at the end of the phone call, without any prompting from me, said we need to get a care package together for Sabrina and her students. During the next week probably 70 pounds of teaching supplies flowed into my office. I told them if you gather it, I'll send it," Trent says.

"The care package that I received from Allen's class was so incredible; it had rulers, glue, pencils, colored pencils, construction paper, markers -- you name, it was in there," Gorman says. "Many of my students could not even afford the standard school supplies to start the school year, but Allen's students' generosity really benefitted my own students. Their package reminded me of how wonderful the University of Wyoming and the state are because we all care. You know everyone and they are there to help you. The other teachers in my building were jealous that I had people who would go above and beyond and do something like this."

Trent says this long-distance arrangement is a stepping stone to developing such programs in the College of Education.

"I've already talked with a few faculty members about how we might make this a more systematic part of our classes because those folks, such as Sabrina, are great resources," he says. "Our graduates are teaching throughout the United States, which allows our students in Wyoming to hear what it is like to teach in other states. This would be beneficial."

Gorman agrees with her former instructor.

"It has benefitted me because it is just another way I can help teach someone," she says. "Some of Allen's students said they learned a great deal from me in the 30-45 minutes we talked, and I was really taken back. The professors at UW do a great job of telling you what to expect and how they handled situations, but when you hear it from someone who is close to your age, it seems so much more real."

Posted on Tuesday, November 11, 2003