Ariana Mckenzie, majoring in elementary education and special education K-12, had to pack up and move home to north Idaho in the middle of her final semester.
Before the stay-at-home orders went into effect, Mckenzie was student teaching at Taft Elementary in the Extended Resource Room. Leaving the in-person aspect of teaching students with disabilities while finalizing her research and professional development ahead of becoming a teacher left Mckenzie initially feeling like she was being robbed of an important experience. “I was just 11 weeks into teaching when the opportunity to teach in a traditional way was stripped from me due to Covid-19,” she said.
Because of support she has received in her cohort and from her faculty liaison professor Lisa Beymer, Mckenzie was able to begin teaching remotely, and already going above and beyond to run a volunteer day camp for children who needed supervision after schools were closed.
Mckenzie continues to student teach online full time using available technology for video conferencing as well as sending emails, calling students on the phone and recording instructional videos to post to YouTube for her students each week, including yoga lessons. She works with her mentor teacher closely, continues writing lesson plans and tailoring instruction to the population of students she serves at Taft, many of whom are English language learners.
“This week I created an entire bee-themed unit plan for ELA and math instruction that I will be teaching remotely to my second and third graders,” she said. “As future special educators we have a responsibility to uphold standards in our classroom and for our students, and we are committed to meeting our students’ needs in any way we can.”
Mckenzie will graduate with high honors in May, and has accepted a teaching position in Washington, starting this fall.