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."

UW GRADUATE, STUDENTS KEEP LONG-DISTANCE RELATIONSHIP

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