McMurry Education Majors get Hands-on Experience tutoring at Alcorta Elementary School

At McMurry, students are given valuable opportunities to grow as future educators. This semester, students enrolled in Professor Melody Roper’s Inclusive Classroom course are gaining real-world experience by spending their mornings tutoring students at Alcorta Elementary School. This course is for Junior Education majors, all wanting to teach different subjects from core curriculum classes like Math and History to extracurriculars such as Art and PE. According to the catalog course description, the course is designed to “prepare students for success in today’s diverse and dynamic classroom environments.” Key topics in the course are multiculturalism and diversity in K-12 schools. Students learn about ways to create an inclusive classroom that celebrates different cultures, religions, and holidays.  

 The tutoring portion of the course started when she was approached about the possibility of her students tutoring at Thomas Elementary, and she thought her course, “Inclusive Classroom,” would be the perfect fit. At that time, Thomas served as the district’s “Newcomer” campus, welcoming and supporting refugee children from Africa as they transitioned into American classrooms. Her students began tutoring in classrooms across the campus that semester, and the experience proved to be highly successful for McMurry students, as well as the students and teachers at Thomas Elementary.  

 Due to its positive impact, the program continued until Thomas Elementary closed earlier last year. Roper began searching for another elementary school to partner with and reached out to Alfonso Santoya, an outstanding McMurry graduate who teaches at Alcorta Elementary. He was enthusiastic about the idea, and after meeting with Melissa Speegle, the principal at Alcorta, a new partnership was established.  

Roper shared that this partnership exists because meaningful learning happens through experience. Rather than simply discussing diversity in schools within a college classroom, through this course, McMurry students can observe and engage with it firsthand, which ensures that “McMurry students gain valuable insight into the realities of today’s schools, while Alcorta students receive additional support in developing their reading and math skills.”  

I am a student in Roper’s course, and even though we have only been tutoring for a couple of days, I have loved the experience! I hope to teach High School Theatre, so tutoring first graders on syllables and spelling is much different than what I am used to. During High School, I was a part of a program called, “Ready, Set, Teach!”, which gave me experience working with second graders. My experience helped me learn how much patience is needed when working with younger students, which helped set me up for success at Alcorta Elementary. The teachers, students, and staff are all so welcoming, and I am so excited to see what the next few weeks bring, not only for myself, but also for my peers also gaining teaching experience. I am so grateful to be a part of an educational program like the one at McMurry because my professors go to great lengths to prepare me to teach in the classroom, and they truly care about my future.