Senn students out of a class of 300—nearly 50 percent of the class—applied to Loyola. That’s a dramatic increase from even a few years ago. The Senn High School Scholars Program is


another component of the partnership, and offers tuition assistance to at least five outstanding Senn students each year who attend Loyola. Juan- ito Boligor graduated from Senn’s IB program in 2015 and is now in his sophomore year at Loyola as a Senn High School Scholar. Boligor is both humble and grateful when


talking about the partnership between Senn and Loyola. He knew he wanted to go to college, but wasn’t sure how his family could afford the expense until he heard about the scholarship pro- gram. “I felt like, in the sea of students throughout the country, there was no way that a university would give an immigrant student from a Chicago public high school a scholarship,” he says. “But after hearing that the seniors in the


graduation class ahead of me received substan- tial scholarships from Loyola, I knew that every decision I made from that moment on was to get that scholarship. The partnership made me incredibly driven and focused; the partnership gave me a chance.”


A


nd Boligor is not the only one. At St. Benedict Preparatory School, a pre-K through 12th grade parish school in the North Center neigh- borhood, a number of students


do not speak English as their first language and need extra assistance in the classroom. In 2014, St. Benedict implemented their first English language learner support class—a direct result of their partnership with Loyola. One of the main courses in the School of


Education’s teacher preparation program focuses on English language learning (ELL) and special education. The Loyola students conduct an in-depth research project that assesses the learn- ing strengths and weaknesses of ELL students. Applying their own research and the expertise of their education professors, Loyola students present a case study to the teachers at the end of the semester, with recommendations about how best to work with each ELL student to meet his or her needs. “From [this research project], we realized we


needed to do more to support the English lan- guage learners we had on campus,” says Rachel Gemo, St. Benedict’s head of the parish school. “We were actually able to design a class based on what we learned from the Loyola students.” St. Benedict, or St. Ben’s as it is affectionately


known, has been involved with the Partners for Education initiative since the start, and before that St. Ben’s was a host school for Loyola student


teachers. Today, St. Ben’s hosts Loyola students and faculty in some capacity every day. Educa- tion professors bring their students to to observe classes as early as freshman year, and several Loyola students complete their required yearlong student teaching internship at St. Ben’s. In their first semester, Loyola students will


work alongside a cooperating teacher. By their second semester they are ready to lead the class. “It is a scaffolding approach,” says David Ens- minger, associate professor and program chair for teaching and learning in the School of Education. “Our candidates have the opportunity to get to


“It is a true partnership. Our students flourish


because they have the ability to go to Loyola to use their library and


journalism facilities. They feel connected to Loyola from freshman year on, and I think that’s really powerful.”


— MARY BECK, PRINCIPAL AT NICHOLAS SENN HIGH SCHOOL


of my freshman year, I was in a high school help- ing juniors prepare for the ACT. This year, I feel very comfortable in front of the classroom and creating lessons.” The St. Ben’s students benefit from the extra


help and attention, and veteran teachers can even learn a thing or two from Loyola students. Nancy Feely (MEd ’05, MEd ’11), a Loyola School of Education alum who earned master’s degrees in elementary education and instructional lead- ership, says having teacher candidates in the classroom helps push St. Ben’s teachers to reflect on and refine their own approach. It is in effect a form of continuing education. “The student teachers and student observers


from Loyola are learning fresh, new things. They have access to the newest methods in reading instruction, or new philosophies on social justice teaching,” Feely explains. “They are sharing some of the most up-to-date practices on education policies and methods with our teachers.” Another component of the partnership is a


dual-credit course in British literature, offered to seniors, which can count as a college-level course at Loyola and other universities. The School of Education vets the syllabus and supports the teacher to ensure that the course is up to the academic standards of a college-level class. Going forward, members of the School of


know their students by co-teaching first and then taking over the classroom.” For Ensmigner, the advantage of this field-


based approach is that students can see the les- sons they learn in the classroom come to life. He recalls a visit after finishing a chapter on English language learners: “If I had been teaching that class on campus, we might have done a video or a written case, which is beneficial. But when the Loyola students are in a school watching a teacher work with a group of students who are English language learners, that textbook comes to life,” he says. “It fits Loyola’s broader mission of preparing people for action. The more we can make a connection between conceptual and theoretical knowledge, the more students are going to act on that knowledge.” Senior Gianna Marshall is completing her


student teaching internship at St. Ben’s this year, in the third grade classroom of Loyola alumna Rachel Nemes (BS ’11). Marshall feels ready to take over as third grade teacher next semester thanks to the many hours she has already spent in classroom settings throughout her four years at Loyola. “We are put into that role [in the class- room] very quickly,” she says. “On the second day


Education are offering their expertise and as- sistance as St. Ben’s works on a new strategic plan and vision for the future. It’s a perfect fit, says Gemo, because the two schools have such closely aligned goals. “The mission of Loyola is that they want their teachers to be able to teach every kid,” she says. “And that really fits with us, because we believe that each child can learn. When you match from mission, everything else just fits naturally.” Loyola’s commitment to urban education also


extends into the communities where the schools are located. “Loyola, and the School of Education in particular, is really working to be ever more deeply embedded in our communities, with really deep commitments to social justice,“ says Schmidt, the coordinator of the Senn partnership. “We are putting experiences in place that encour- age and support students who then, we hope, are making decisions to teach in cities.” Ensminger wants his students to understand


not only the impact that schools have on com- munities, but their role in that impact as a teacher. “One of the underlying principles of our programs is that we try to support neighborhood schools, and you can’t support neighborhood schools without considering the community that they are in,” he says. “What we are doing, in very systemat- ic and purposeful ways, is to support the schools in our area—and the communities themselves.” L


16 LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO


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