92 experience was too good to pass up.” Student teachers could be assigned any age group when subbing, giving them the opportunity to see what teaching other age groups might be like. Perring said that having this opportunity filled the gap that no longer switching classrooms at semester had left, giving students a chance to expand their work portfolios. Education professors were also available on Fridays to come to classrooms if students were having trouble managing the classroom, or simply to check in and have a conversation. “Our faculty was quick to say, ‘We want to do it,’” chair of teacher preparation Cheri Smith said. “I think [the new program] brought us closer in a new way, brought us closer to the students, definitely closer to Searcy School District, and what we’re hoping is that we can become a part of the culture of Searcy district — not just Harding but also Searcy community.” The college of education applied for a second grant that would allow them to continue to expand the program. Both Perring and Smith said that even without the grant the department planned to move forward and expand the pilot program. “The best educators are those who are vulnerable,” Perring said. “That’s one of the nice things about our college … We’re willing to be vulnerable and to become better, become stronger because we do see that education is not something that is what it was, it is something that needs to be a constant.” Written by: Grace Hurt The Harding Cannon-Clary College of Education implemented a pilot program in fall 2022 that brought changes to student teaching. Harding was one of eight schools in Arkansas to receive a grant from Forward Arkansas that was designed to start a student teaching pilot program at the beginning of the fall semester. The program was offered to senior elementary education majors with the hope of expanding the program in future years. Of 22 majors, 14 joined the program. The new program assigned student teachers a year-long teaching assignment, whereas in past years students switched assignments and grade levels at the end of the fall semester. “What we’re hoping to do with the pilot is to simulate that first year of teaching,” Matthew Perring, director of field experience, said. “After that first year when … they’ve gotten hired to do their first job, they’re actually a second year teacher. They’ve been able to get through that first cumbersome year of any teaching job with the support of Harding, with the support of the school district, so that by their second year, a year down the line, they’re much more confident.” In addition to a year-long placement, students in the new program were substitute teachers for the Searcy School District every Friday. Jessica Simmons, a senior elementary education major in the program, said that initially, the idea of subbing by herself in a classroom was terrifying. “The reason I wanted to be in the program was because I knew I needed it, not because I necessarily wanted to do it,” Simmons said. “Subbing in a classroom full of kids all day, from 7:30 to 3:30 is terrifying … but I knew that the The college of education creates a new program for student teachers. education expanding
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