progress edition BUILDING MINDS & BODIES
H1 SUNDAY JANUARY 30, 2011
WATERLOO www.wcfcourier.com CEDAR FALLS
Inside this section:
LEADER IN ME Leadership program helps area students develop life skills page H2
ROAD WORK HCC’s new center will allow expansion of driver training program page H4
inside BUILDING ON TRADITON Generational businesses are at the heart of the community page I1
TOP-NOTCH
BUILDING BACKBONE Big city transplants enjoy the quality of life in Cedar Valley page J1
Wartburg boasts high acceptance rate for medical students page H5
The economics of teaching Researcher studies effect of student volunteers, grants on Cedar Valley By EMILY CHRISTENSEN emily.christensen@wcfcourier.com
CEDAR FALLS — The numbers have yet to be tallied but at least one local researcher is absolutely certain the University of Northern Iowa’s teacher education program is having a positive financial impact on the Cedar Valley and the state. Sam Lankford, a UNI professor and director of the Sustainable Tourism and Environment Program, said his study will examine the hours students are engaged in the community and value that based on what is done in the nonprofit sector. The study will also take into consideration the grants these students have helped secure. “We have the number of students, the hours they worked per week and how many schools were impacted, but it’s too early to know any exact numbers just yet,” Lankford said. “The only thing I can say is that this will definitely be a positive just looking at the number of hours students are volunteering on boards and the activities they are involved with beyond teaching.” Dwight Watson, dean of the College of Education, already is well-versed on the other ways the department’s preservice teachers are affecting their communities and the state. He knows that in 135 years the school has produced more than 17,000 educators and more than 12,000 teach in Iowa. Each year, the school graduates about 500 new teachers. In the last six years, these students have brought in $45 million in contracts and grants from outside agencies. But he wants to know more. And he believes the school can do more. “We are concerned about Iowa’s brain drain and the population shift,” he said. “We lost a representative based on the 2010 census count. One of the thoughts is that teachers have a tendency to be steadfast, and we want to make sure that our teachers are well-prepared to go back into the communities from which they
RICK CHASE / Courier Staff Photographer
Megan Butler, a recent University of Northern Iowa graduate, works with her class at Walter Cunningham School for Excellence. Butler student taught at the school and opted to stay in the Cedar Valley after graduating in December. came to replace the generation of teachers who are retiring. This is just one way to assure the viability and continuation of Iowans and the teaching population.” Megan Butler, a Washington, Iowa, native and recent UNI graduate, didn’t return to her hometown after commencement, but she is making a new home here in the Cedar Valley. After two student teaching positions in Waterloo she applied for a full-time position in the district. On Dec. 17 she was offered a contract at Dr. Walter Cunningham School for Excellence. She graduated the next day. “My husband works at John
Deere, and this is halfway between both of our hometowns,” she said. “I really like the Cedar Valley and after visiting a few of the schools it just started to feel like home.’’ Before graduation each preservice teacher must complete a 16-week student teaching stint in one of their top three location preferences. Diana Briggs, the interim director of the Office of Student Field Experiences, said most students choose to go back near their hometown or in one of the state’s three larger metropolitan areas — the Cedar Valley, Cedar Rapids and Des Moines. Briggs said many students end
up in the community where they student teach, in part because the administrators in those districts feel comfortable offering a position to someone they have seen in action. “They are a known commodity,” Briggs said. The students are often a commodity in the community as well, Watson said. UNI teacher education students are encouraged to get involved in the community where they teach, either by volunteering with local social organizations or sitting on local boards. J.P. Deckert, a recent UNI graduate, may not be staying in Iowa
for his first teaching job, but he left his mark on the Cedar Valley while he was in school. He volunteered with Big Brothers Big Sisters. He worked with the Special Olympics. And he helped organize a charity costume golf tournament that most recently raised about $5,500 for new playground equipment at River Hills. And someday the Dewitt native hopes to return to his home state and put down some roots. “Cedar Falls has been a great home for seven years and I hope to get back here or to the Quad Cities, I think, but for the time being, I need to get out and gather some new experiences,” he said.