Everything Nac

Stephen F. Austin State University students enrolled in the James I. Perkins College of Education are putting their skills to the test by participating in Project Confianza.

A collaborative effort between SFA’s James I. Perkins College of Education and the Lufkin and Nacogdoches Independent School Districts, Project Confianza aims to improve the education of pre- and in-service teachers to help them work effectively with English Language Learners.

More than 20 elementary education students enrolled in SFA Assistant Professor Lauren Burrow’s early childhood theory and practice course are receiving hands-on practice by working one-on-one with ELLs and their families in the Nacogdoches community through the project.

Burrow said this experience helps SFA students learn about best pedagogical practices and shapes them into teachers who are well informed in lesson-plan theory and practice.

As part of the project, students are orchestrating multiple events, including Nuestra Play Date in el Parque, Nuestra Noche de Writing con Familias and Día de los Niños.

Beginning at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, April 2, SFA students will host Nuestra Play Date in el Parque at Banita Creek Park to serve as a meet and greet for Brooks-Quinn-Jones Elementary School students and families.

Then, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Monday, April 4, SFA students will have the opportunity to exercise ELL teaching practices for creative writing during Nuestra Noche de Writing con Familias at Brooks-Quinn-Jones Elementary School. During this event, SFA students will guide ELLs and their families through poetry writing. The students will prepare by creating lesson plans adhering to Texas state standards. Burrow expects attendees to participate in two poetry centers where they will write two poems.

The night will include dinner and giveaways. SFA students will later judge the poems and select five-to-10 submissions for publication. The winning poems will be announced at the Día de los Niños celebration beginning at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, April 30, at the Judy B. McDonald Public Library in Nacogdoches.

The Día de los Niños event celebrates children’s literature and multicultural authors, and the event is open to the public. SFA students will design lessons incorporating game-play while highlighting Hispanic authors and the authors of the poems selected for publication at the Nuestra Noche de Writing con Familias event.

“I wanted to change authorship to the families to honor their expertise and celebrate their contributions to their children’s education,” Burrow said. “By asking the SFA students to facilitate the learning event, I hope to show them the amazing outcomes that can result when teachers partner with families.”

Overall, Burrow said this project serves as a way “to introduce, expose and increase SFA students’ cultural awareness, interaction, appreciation, understanding and confidence when working with ELL families in their future classrooms so their teaching practices can be culturally sensitive, responsive and inclusive.”

For more information, contact Burrow at burrowle@sfasu.edu.

Dr. Ray Darville, professor of sociology at Stephen F. Austin State University, will present “The Seventh Objective: Live a Natural Life” at the upcoming Regents Lecture.

Darville, the 2015-16 Regents Professor, will deliver the address at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 5, in the Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus. Refreshments will be served, and there is no admission charge. The Phi Eta Sigma induction ceremony will follow the lecture.

Reserved for exemplary university role models, the title of Regents Professor is the highest honor SFA bestows upon members of the faculty and is held for one academic year.

Darville’s address will include six key objectives that are important throughout life, as well as a seventh objective that relates to living naturally.

“Dr. Darville will draw upon his 30 years of experience as a professor, including his research work in our national parks,” said Dr. Darla Daniel O’Dwyer, associate professor of human sciences and chair of the Regents Lecture committee.

An SFA faculty member since 2001, Darville earned his bachelor’s degree in sociology from East Texas Baptist University in 1976 and his master’s degree from SFA in 1979. He received his doctoral degree from the University of North Texas in 1984.

This is the 11th in a series of lectures delivered by SFA Regents Professors. The SFA Office of the Provost and the University Lecture Series Committee sponsor the series.

Stephen F. Austin State University junior interior design majors Abigail Gearld and Madison Stewart won first place for their aqua bar lighting model, which they created as a project in SFA Professor of Human Sciences Dr. Mitzi Perritt’s interior lighting class. Gearld and Stewart competed against their classmates, and Perritt presented various awards for the designs.

Students were divided into teams of two and tasked with creating a non-residential architectural model and incorporating natural and artificial light in the project.

“The students seem to enjoy this project each year. It allows them freedom to try creative applications of lighting in any type of non-residential space they desire,” Perritt said. “Model-building can be a lot of fun and stirs the imagination. Models are one way to encourage students to think ‘up’ as well as ‘out.’ They learn to manipulate a volume of space and bring the interior to life with lighting.”