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University of Arkansas College of Ed and Health Professions Students Gain Clinical Experience

Nursing, speech-language pathology, and occupational therapy students in the College of Education and Health Professions recently had the unique opportunity to work with children who have hearing loss at SPARK Day. 

The college collaborated with the non-profit Arkansas Hands and Voices, which supports parents and professionals who work with children with hearing loss regardless of their communication approach. 

SPARK — an acronym for Student Preparation to Care for ARkansas Kids — was partially funded through a WE CARE grant. The college’s future caring professionals gained clinical experience with this specialty population, a requirement of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association for professional certification. The day also provided clinical training opportunities for those studying to be occupational therapists and nurses. 

College of Education and Health Professions Team Earns Grant to Start Razorback STARS Project

College of Education and Health Professions faculty and Decatur School District officials met recently to discuss their new partnership. From left, Matt Boeving, Steve Watkins, Christy Smith, Jennifer Beasley, Christine Ralston, Kevin Matthews, and Ederlee Gomez.

A faculty team in the College of Education and Health Professions was awarded a $525,013 Teacher Quality Partnership grant from the U.S. Department of Education that will help produce a pipeline of teachers in small, rural Northwest Arkansas schools.

The team is based in the college’s Department of Curriculum and Instruction, which prepares students for various careers in education. The grant team is led by Christine Ralston, a teaching associate professor, who is working closely with co-principal investigators Jennifer Beasley, Vicki Collet, and Christy Smith.

Collet will provide support for mentoring, and Smith will provide support for co-teaching, which are both pivotal to the Razorback STARS project.

WE CARE+Wellness Program to Support Arkansas Teacher Corps Fellows

David D. Christian, associate professor of counselor education and supervision in the College of Education and Health Professions, works with two Arkansas Teacher Corps fellows.

This article was originally published by the University of Arkansas

An interdisciplinary faculty team has developed a wellness program for Arkansas Teacher Corps fellows with funds from a College of Education and Health Professions WE CARE grant.

WE CARE, an acronym for Wellness and Education Commitment to Arkansas Excellence, advances three priorities centered on expanding impactful research, engaging in service to Arkansas, and fostering a caring culture.

Arkansas Teacher Corps is a partnership between the College of Education and Health Professions, the Walton Family Foundation, the Arkansas Department of Education, and participating Arkansas public school districts to recruit, train, license , and support teachers across the state. The Arkansas Teacher Corps provides an accelerated path to teaching at a time when many Arkansas schools face severe teacher shortages.