Maemester: Preparing tomorrow’s teachers and creating life-long mentors

August 14, 2024

The creativity and inspiration of Albion’s newest teacher candidates was on full display May 23 during the 18th Annual Showcase of Learning, hosted by the Education Department and the Fritz Shurmur Center for Teacher Development.

Guests funneled into Albion’s Science Complex to hear students and view samples of the class projects, planned and implemented over the span of three, action-packed weeks. The students were part of Albion’s Maemester Boundary Crossings program, which has been preparing teachers to thrive in classrooms for 18 years.

Among the crowd were also mentor teachers who remember what it felt like being in those education students’ shoes, as the event didn’t just showcase the work of teacher candidates but also former mentees now doing the mentoring.

McKenna Donahue ’18, now in her fifth year as a kindergarten teacher at Walters Elementary School in Marshall, has been a Maemester mentor for four years. “I believe in the program and want to give back as much as I can,” she said.

Donahue teaches in the same classroom where she was placed for both Maemester and her student teaching. “My mentor teacher is still a great mentor and close friend,” she said. “She’s the one who encouraged me to take on the building sub position and then encouraged me to apply for her position when she was moving on elsewhere.”

Associate professor Betty Okwako-Riekkola, who helped coordinate the program this year (along with Suellyn Henke, professor and chair of the Education Department, and Karen Hoaglin, liaison for the Shurmur Center), said mentor teachers who have gone through the program like McKenna are uniquely suited to support their mentees since they have a shared experience and understand the program well. 

“Those veteran teachers play a key role by modeling professional behaviors and responsibilities and providing teacher candidates feedback and guidance to prepare them for student-teaching experiences,” Okwako-Riekkola said.

Nearly two decades of preparing classroom leaders

Maemester started when Mae Ola Dunklin, the former director of the Fritz Shurmur Center, and Deborah Roose, then chair of the Education Department, collaborated with local educators, college faculty, and the community to design a more in-depth, pre-student teaching experience for Albion College students. The idea took off with support from the C. Robert ’63 and Sara ’64 Maxfield Endowed Teacher Enhancement Fund and focused first in the Albion Public School district (APS). The program moved exclusively to Marshall Public Schools (MPS) following the annexation of APS in 2016. The goal of the program remains the same–offering valuable classroom teaching experience in the spring for all junior elementary, secondary, and K-12 education students. Known originally as Maymester, it was renamed Maemester in 2017 to honor Dunklin. 

During Maemester, teacher candidates spend at least 140 hours in classrooms, assisting mentor teachers with the daily routine of taking attendance, grading, planning lessons, and assessing students. Mentor teachers then take the supporting role as teacher candidates enact the enrichment projects they’ve designed. 

Maemester has survived, and even thrived, through difficult times such as the Covid-19 pandemic, when it became a successful remote event; and when Albion’s high school and middle school closed and were folded into MPS. 

“When we started this journey, we were looking for a way to involve prospective teachers with the schools. We did not anticipate this [level of success],” said Dunklin, reflecting on the longevity and success that have surpassed her original goals.

David Turner ’92, principal of Marshall High School, attributes the success of Maemester in large part to its design, which focuses on a strong network of local teachers, including many dedicated alumni.

Those mentor teachers “benefit the college students and Albion College because they build existing relationships with individuals in the district,” Turner said. “We see the program as a pipeline for new teachers. Maemester students are more likely to be placed in student-teaching roles and ultimately full-time teaching positions in Marshall Public Schools because of the positive relationships they develop during their three weeks in the classroom.” 

What’s more? New teachers who successfully complete the Maemester program at MPS can oftentimes skip a step during contract negotiations, which comes with a higher annual salary. 

It is rare for an education program to guarantee this kind of experience for its teacher candidates. The incredible thing, though, is that this applied approach is standard practice for Albion’s Education Department, which exposes its students early and often to real-life classrooms beginning with their very first course. 

“We are intentional about where we place teacher candidates, ensuring they are exposed to diverse resources and instructional materials that represent diverse cultures, perspectives, and experiences,” Okwako-Riekkola said. “In the foundation courses, clinical experiences focus on local Albion schools (Harrington Elementary and the Opportunity High School), while later courses include clinical experiences focused on working with exceptional learners including the gifted-and-talented, and students in special education contexts.” 

Mentees and mentors alike on hand for event

Mentor teachers from throughout MPS were on hand for the showcase, visibly beaming with pride as their mentees shared the achievements of the Maemester program. 

“The evening gives education students a chance to talk about their teaching to the community,” said Professor Henke. “They see what it feels like to represent their school and they’re very proud of it. It’s very impressive.” 

Henke said this immersive experience provides the opportunity for teacher candidates to build meaningful relationships and develop a deeper understanding of teaching.  

“I enjoyed my Maemester experience. I felt like it gave me a great idea of what to expect come time to student teach,” said Megan Moco ’19, a kindergarten teacher at Walters Elementary, who mentored teacher candidate Liberty Eaton ’25. “I had an incredible mentor teacher for my Maemester and student-teaching experience. She took a very hands-on approach when showing me all that happens behind the scenes. From data collection, assessment practice, behavior management tools; I was able to take it all in.”

“When I finished my Maemester and student teaching experience with Mrs. Marcie Hydrick, I left knowing I could contact her at any point for any reason,” Moco said. “I want to make sure all my mentees leave feeling that they can reach out if they’re in need of advice, materials, recommendation letters, etc.” 

Turner said Maemester stands out as a shining example of a program deeply rooted in the local community, with the shared goal of developing expert teachers and sustaining local schools. 

“Maemester is embedded in our programming. Kids have pencils, it’s a standard thing. For me, Maemester is a standard thing,” Turner said. “It benefits the college students as they are learning to become educators and hone their craft. It helps our teachers because it brings new energy and ideas and it also helps them with their own planning. Our students benefit from the energy and applied experiences.”

A showcase of possibilities

Nineteen Albion students created unit plans as part of this year’s theme, “Water Connects Us,” under the auspices of 20 mentor teachers. 

Donahue, the kindergarten teacher at Walters, mentored Josie Dunn ’25, who plans to teach kindergarten through third grade. Dunn taught Donahue’s class writing lessons about facts and opinions related to birds and their habitat called “Spring Out of Kindergarten.”

“It’s science-integrated but it’s a chance for kids to write their opinions,” Dunn said. “Things like, ‘I like birds because….’ and ‘I like owls because….’”

Donahue said her students loved having Josie in class and that she really connected with them through the experiential components of her lessons. “I think my students had a great time doing all of Josie’s lessons, especially the fun crafts that she guided them to do. I think their favorite thing was painting and decorating bird houses. They were able to complete this project with their third-grade buddies and students were excited to take them home and continue birdwatching using the skills they had developed in previous lessons taught by Josie.”

When asked to share one thing she learned during Maemester, Dunn smiled and replied, “Kindergarteners need you to explain things step-by-step, many times, and as a teacher you need to build in time for that.” 

Dunn said she plans to further her education with a master’s degree and become a reading specialist. And because there is such a need for quality teachers, she is optimistic that she can find that ideal opportunity. “I’ll have more options about where I can go and teach,” she said. 

“I love mentoring Albion College students. I enjoy it because it allows me to continue to keep up a relationship with the Education Department which I care greatly about and I love to see students develop a passion and get to be part of cultivating that experience,” Donahue said. “It’s awesome for me to see prospective teachers develop relationships with my students and get to share in loving and caring for kindergarteners. I also love seeing a college students teacher’s voice and witnessing them become more confident.”

This year’s Maemester projects covered a wide spectrum and included students from kindergarten through high school. 

Brady Gawne ’25 taught eighth-graders at Marshall Middle School about the Civil War’s Reconstruction period. Often overlooked in history classes, Reconstruction was the plan to help the North and South unite after the war. It was all but derailed after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Gawne had his students make their own Reconstruction plans.

“They had fun with that,” he said. “A lot of them were well-versed on the big battles of the Civil War and that speaks a lot for the school district that they knew so much. We talked about the KKK, things like that. They were very mature and very respectful. They liked learning about new topics.”

Gawne hopes to earn a master’s degree and eventually become a school administrator.

Bella Bakeman ’25 wanted her sophomore students at Marshall High School to understand and embrace the role and importance of journalism. 

The editor of Albion’s student newspaper, The Pleiad, Bakeman titled her unit, “Anyone Can Be a Journalist,” and focused on how water connects everyone. She had her students create a zine, a small, self-published eMagazine in which several groups focused on water topics such as the Flint water crisis and water as a human right.

“It’s opinion-based and they wrote it and illustrated it,” she said. The zine was distributed at the high school and the showcase at Albion. “The goal is to teach them the importance of journalism,” she said. “I want students to get excited about journalism.”

Another student taught middle school students poetry; another took students on a canoe trip; and another used music to tell a story.

In addition to helping prepare students to teach, Maemester fuels a passion for education and creates enduring connections.

 Hannah Stutler ’24, who this fall will be student teaching at Hughes Elementary School in Marshall, began working with Henke during her senior year in high school to select courses that would transfer into Albion and set her up for success in the education program. 

“I want to spend time teaching kids to write and enjoy books,” Stutler said. “My biggest passion is reading and writing and I want to instill that love for reading in my students.”