Aspiring teachers hosted for classroom learning experience at district elementary schools

In a partnership that has stretched for a decade, Osseo Area Schools recently hosted college students from Valley City State University and North Dakota State University, welcoming them to seven elementary school sites for a three-day diversity practicum as part of the future educators’ training program. 

This year, 19 students from the two colleges traveled to the metro area for firsthand learning from experienced teachers and diverse learners. 

“By hosting a practicum student, schools contribute directly to the preparation of the next generation of teachers while also gaining an extra set of hands and eyes in the classroom,” the program’s supervisor said. “Hosting them is not only an investment in their growth, but also in the future of education.”

One aspiring educator, Jessie, spent her three days of the diversity practicum in a fourth grade classroom at Birch Grove School for the Arts, where she said she gained valuable experience. 

“It’s been an exciting experience,” she said. “You get so many different perspectives, and it’s been helpful for my education.”

Program leader Rylee Bode said the students give a capstone presentation before graduation, and he said students frequently mention their time working with Osseo Area Schools’ students as something that was especially monumental and impactful on their path toward becoming educators.