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EDUCATIONAL
POLICY & LEADERSHIP STUDIES
After School Program Boosts Confidence
Seifert gives girls confidence, life tools, through running program. |
Tami Sigmon felt helpless witnessing her 8-year-old daughter, Cayla, struggling with confidence and weight issues. But just 6-weeks into a new after school program, she’s already seen an amazing turnaround in her daughter.
“She’s more energetic and her self esteem has skyrocketed,” Sigmon said. “She’s always got a smile on her face.”
Cayla is one of seven girls at her Iowa City school participating in Girls on the Run, a national organization that Postdoctoral Research Scholar Tricia Seifert (PhD ’06) endeavored to bring to Iowa City.
Girls on the Run is a 12-week program culminating in the girls running a 5K. To build to that goal, they meet twice a week to work with volunteer coaches, including Seifert.
But it’s not all about running. The program also includes a curriculum.
“The first part is learning about self and feeling good about who you are,” Seifert said. “The next portion is examining what kind of friend you are. There’s also a session on being assertive.”
Seifert, an Ironman triathlete, is one of six Iowa City women who worked to bring a chapter of Girls on the Run to Iowa City. Theirs is the first in the state and benefits from a partnership with UI Recreational Services.
The women have begun programs at two elementary schools so far. They hope to expand to five schools by this spring and eventually aim for enough volunteers and interest to start programs at every elementary school in Johnson County.
Nine-year-old participant Avery said she signed up for Girls on the Run because she loves to run. She said she’s also learned some important lessons.
“I’ve learned about healthy eating and some good promises to make, like do your best and always be honest,” she said.
Seifert said she hopes Girls on the Run will prepare its participants for struggles they may face in middle school and beyond.
“Middle school is a crazy, tumultuous time when you’re challenged on every front in terms of peer pressure. But if girls go into middle school prepared with a real sense of this is who I am and this is what I believe in and this is why, middle school might not be so tough,” Seifert said.
To learn about Girls on the Run, visit www.girlsontherun.org/. To volunteer with Girls on the Run of Johnson County, contact Angela Charsha at angela-charsha@uiowa.edu.
New Ed.S. Program in School Curriculum and Assessment Policy Provides Balance
Anew program, the brainchild of Educational Administration Assistant Professor Liz Hollingworth (PhD ’05), combines courses that prepare students to be leaders in school policy, assessment, and curriculum in the No Child Left Behind era.
In School Curriculum and Assessment Policy, students will complete 36 semester hours beyond a master’s degree, including a research project, to earn their Ed.S. Pre-requisites for admission include three or more years teaching experience, the completion of an elementary statistics course and a master’s degree in education.
“The specialist degree will prepare graduates for any sort of leadership capacity where they would be asked to make decisions about school curriculum using assessment data,” Hollingworth said.
April Gonzalez, who will finish her master’s degree in Measurement and Statistics this fall, will be among the new program’s first students. She said she expects it will help her be more marketable and versatile in her career.
“This degree will provide balance,” Gonzalez said. “I have a strong measurement background now, but I’m not familiar with administrative policy. This will help make me well-rounded so I can help administrators make good decisions based on assessment and policy.”
To learn more about the School Curriculum and Assessment Policy program, visit www.education.uiowa.edu/epls/scap. |
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