Bridging Gaps for New Educators offers support and networking opportunities for alumni from the Elementary Education major in CU Boulder’s School of Education while uncovering issues that new educators face in the field. Through collective meetings, we gather information about the dissonance that new educators may be experience in relation to their preparation in the elementary teacher education program–and more specifically the culturally and linguistically diverse education sequence–in an effort to improve our program and equip new educators to succeed in the field . Not only will the information shared be utilized to shift content in our courses to best serve the needs of our current students, it will also help the Elementary Education program to better understand and meet the needs of marginalized students in public schools. Further, research shows that new teachers who feel that they have a substantial network of support in their first years teaching are more likely to stay in the profession long term. By offering a group for the new teachers to reflect on the dilemmas that they are experiencing in their first years teaching, we hope to improve issues of burnout that are an urgent concern in the teaching profession.    

All Elementary Education alumni from the past two years will be invited to participate in an initial zoom meeting in early February 2024 to discuss details. This initial meeting will also be an opportunity for the participants to share what they hope to get out of participating in the group. Information gathered during this meeting will be used to plan subsequent meetings and co-create ground rules to ensure the space is productive for all participants. After the initial zoom meeting occurs, we will schedule monthly or bi-monthly meetings from February through June (5-10 meetings total). After the meetings in the spring, a summary of findings will be shared with the Elementary Education faculty with recommendations for changes to syllabi and coursework. Community meetings may continue into academic year 2024-2025 if there is interest from the participants. 

• Initial Meeting with CU Elementary Education Alumni

  Additional Info

  This initial meeting will take place on zoom to organize the group. Two faculty and approximately ten alumni will attend.

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  Location

  Dates

  Ongoing

  Public or Private

  Private Program (by request only or for a specific audience or group)

  Program Fee

  No charge to attend/participate in activity or program