GCU student Ali Kissane landed a teaching job months before her expected graduation.
By Mike Kilen
GCU News Bureau
Ali Kissane is standing before her high school English class this week teaching the classic novel “The Great Gatsby.” It was one of her favorites as a high school student, which wasn’t that long ago.
Kissane is still finishing college at Grand Canyon University.
She attributes her good fortune — finding a job well before her expected April graduation — to expert guidance of GCU faculty and a high demand for teachers in Arizona, a longtime shortage worsened by the COVID-19 crisis.
“I put everything into teaching, so I’m confident in my ability, but it shows how desperate this state is for teachers,” Kissane said. “There is a huge need for teachers in Arizona.”
The Arizona School Personnel Administrators Association’s annual survey, released in September, showed a teacher shortage in Arizona for the sixth consecutive year with 28% of teacher vacancies remaining unfilled. The association also noted that COVID-19 is impacting staffing as more teachers and staff are quitting or taking unpaid leaves of absence.
GCU is one of the top suppliers of teachers to Arizona schools and is seeing graduates get jobs even before a diploma.
“We are so proud of our students for taking a successful early leap into their teaching careers to help with the teacher shortage,” said Dr. Kimberly LaPrade, Dean of the College of Education. “This is a testament to their preparation, especially the role our faculty has played in ensuring our teacher candidates are ready to fly.”
Kissane was ready to take off full time in the classroom even before she did student teaching, thanks in part to faculty who encouraged her to fully engage in her practicum at Sunrise Mountain High School in Peoria.
They told her to go beyond the essential observation in practicums and also attend meetings, even if it’s not expected, engage and network and take advantage of opportunities to practice classroom skills.
So when she heard of an opening at the school last spring and got an interview, Kissane could show that she already had significant experience there.
She is taking evening classes online at GCU to finish her degree in English in Secondary Education.
“I have the best professors in the world, and I wouldn’t be able to do this without them,” she said, specifically giving a nod to Dr. Jim Mostofo.
Kissane always knew she wanted to be a teacher, often playing the role as a young girl with friends, and now years later students seek her out because they’re comfortable in her room, she said.
“This is why I became a teacher. I want to help them learn but I also want to be there for them, which is really needed in high school,” Kissane said. “A lot of times people forget that.”
Other GCU students have proved classroom ready while still in college.
Erika McCormick
Erika McCormick was offered a job at Sunset Heights Elementary School in Peoria while still student teaching last fall.
“Literally, the day I got my teaching certificate (last December), I started the next day,” she said.
The fourth grade teacher was so adept at online instruction that when many teachers recently returned to in-person classes, she filled the needed role for students who don’t feel safe to return to classrooms.
Her GCU education prepared her for a curriculum rich with use of technology.
“I took it as an opportunity to try something new. It has been cool to see how we can incorporate technology into education,” she said. “There are some kids that struggle and some who thrive online, even in ways they never expected to.”
She also found her purpose, which she never considered before – supporting students online in a very difficult time.
“It’s not just how you support them academically but socially,” she said. “There is a huge social barrier without seeing their friends.”
McCormick adds “hang-out” time for the children to log online as a group and socialize outside of class instruction. She decorates her classroom and gives virtual tours. She showcases children’s words and pictures to share with the class, helping form a more unified community.
The skills that derive from a nationally accredited teacher preparation program at GCU support schools nationwide but also closer to home, in the Peoria Unified School District where Kissane and McCormick are teaching.
Dr. Carter Davidson, the district’s Chief Personnel Officer, said GCU’s well-trained student teachers serve as classroom teachers, which “helps the district fill essential instruction roles during a global pandemic and build a pipeline of quality educators.”
Emily Oestmann
Emily Oestmann met her first grade class for the first time last week after student teaching online and said she has been offered a job at Mirage Elementary School in Glendale before her expected December GCU graduation.
“The demand is so high in every school district for special education; I know a lot of teachers who have quit because it is so different than how school typically is with virtual learning. It’s hard for people who have taught a certain way for so many years to adapt,” she said.
“At GCU, Dr. Rebekah Dyer and Dr. Stephanie Nilsen helped me understand new technology for teaching kids in special education.”
Oestmann said her older brother is special needs and her parents are teachers, so it was a natural interest. But she also worked hard on a dual degree – Early Childhood Education and Early Childhood Special Education with a minor in psychology — that put in her in demand.
As her students filed into class, she had assumed double duty here, too: “Sanitize, sanitize, sanitize.”
“Especially with 6-year-olds who are messy — one student even used his mask as a tissue. It’s hard to keep them clean,” she said.
But like other GCU students soon to graduate, Oestmann is thrilled to be early to the front lines, filling a vital role in a time of great need for children.
“It’s different seeing them with their masks and at a distance,” she said, “but just to see them is such a blessing.”
Grand Canyon University senior writer Mike Kilen can be reached at mike.kilen@gcu.edu or at 602-639-6764.
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