Everything Nac

Stephen F. Austin State University students enrolled in human development and family studies courses in the School of Human Sciences recently hosted “Passport to DiverCity,” a collaborative multicultural event between the university and Greater East Texas Community Action Program Head Start.

Event participants celebrated cultural and racial diversity through myriad activities, including face painting, games, reading and more.

Dr. Flora Farago, assistant professor of human development and family studies at SFA, teamed with Head Start members to be the driving force behind this endeavor.

“We had two primary goals. One, we wanted to celebrate the identities and cultures represented at Head Start. Two, we wanted to expose participants to other cultures represented in the greater Nacogdoches community,” Farago said.

Since January, SFA students enrolled in HMS 236: Child Development have been planning this event. Initially, students developed and administered a survey to Head Start parents and family members to gauge their expectations for the event.

“The research component allowed students to think critically about how to ask sensitive questions about ethnic-racial socialization in early childhood contexts and how to create a family-friendly event responsive to the needs of the families served,” Farago said.

Students then researched and planned more than 100 cultural activities. Head Start members selected a handful of the activities for the event, and the remainder of the activities will exist as a resource for Head Start teachers.

During the event, SFA students led activities such as painting a “Colors of Us” handprint mural, cultural reading and more. Students also served authentic Nigerian food, which a family from the Yoruba tribe of Nigeria prepared.

“Students were able to put into practice what we learned in the classroom. They worked with actual families and children from diverse cultural backgrounds and put on a real event,” Farago said. “This event and similar projects take what they learn beyond the textbook and the classroom walls.”

SFA students in Farago’s course also are required to conduct 15 hours of observation at Head Start during the semester, as well as participate in a service-learning project. Dian Wise, education coordinator for Head Start, said the collaboration is mutually beneficial.

“Our collaboration with SFA helps raise awareness among the community for Head Start and SFA,” Wise said. “These children are our future. Our goal is to help children be successful. We want them to prosper and do well.”

Dr. Lauren Burrow, assistant professor in the Department of Elementary Education, was among the volunteers at the event.

This event was partially funded through a service-learning mini grant Farago received from SFA’s Office of Student Affairs.

Dr. Tim Clipson, Stephen F. Austin State University professor in the Department of Business Communication and Legal Studies and SFA 101 Freshman Success coordinator, will offer the commencement address during the university’s spring graduation ceremonies Saturday, May 13.

Clipson has served SFA for 36 years in various roles and was recently named professor emeritus in the Department of Business Communication and Legal Studies. He will retire from SFA May 31.

“Dr. Clipson is one of the best-known and beloved professors on campus. His leadership has helped move the university forward, and his legacy will leave a lasting impact on generations of Lumberjacks,” said Dr. Baker Pattillo, university president.

In 1998, Clipson was named coordinator of the SFA 101 Freshman Success program, which seeks to introduce incoming freshmen to life at SFA in a supportive environment. Within the Rusche College of Business, Clipson teaches both graduate and undergraduate courses. During the past decade, the majority of his curriculum has focused on business leadership.

“I often say being a university professor is by far one of the best jobs anyone could ever have. For me, it has allowed me to fulfill what I believe I was called to do,” Clipson said.

Prior to joining the Lumberjack family, Clipson taught at Oklahoma State University for two years and in public school at the junior high and high school levels for seven years. He is president of Leadership Is For Everyone (LIFE!), a professional leadership and communication consulting firm.

Clipson received his bachelor’s degree in psychology from Southern Nazarene University, his Master of Education from the University of North Texas, and his doctoral degree with a specialization in business communication/training and development for business and industry from Oklahoma State University.

In 2016, Clipson was the recipient of the Meada Gibbs Outstanding Teacher-Scholar Award for the Association for Business Communication and received the Outstanding Educator Award for the Federation of Business Disciplines.

Clipson’s additional accolades include: Distinguished Paper Award for Association for Business Communication-Southwestern U.S., Teaching Innovation Award and Marlin C. Young Teaching Excellence Award from the Rusche College of Business, SFA Teaching Excellence Award and Distinguished Professor.

Candidates from SFA’s James I. Perkins College of Education and College of Fine Arts will participate in a 9:30 a.m. ceremony. Candidates from the Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture, the Rusche College of Business, the College of Liberal and Applied Arts, and the College of Sciences and Mathematics will participate in a 2 p.m. ceremony. Both ceremonies will be held in Johnson Coliseum on the university campus.

Approximately 1,496 degrees are expected to be awarded, including 1,166 bachelor’s, 320 master’s and 10 doctoral degrees. More than 350 students are expected to graduate with honors, including 122 cum laude, 113 magna cum laude and 116 summa cum laude. Also, there will be approximately 78 students graduating with university scholar honors.

Master’s and doctoral candidates will graduate with their respective colleges, and Clipson will provide the commencement address at both ceremonies.

Puzzling looks situate on their faces as an unfamiliar teacher begins speaking Arabic. As words flow from her mouth, the students fall deeper into confusion. Scanning the worksheet, they see symbols that bear no meaning to them.

For a day, Stephen F. Austin State University students discovered what it was like being an English language learner, immigrant and refugee student during an immersive trip to Las Americas Middle School in Houston.

“I stepped into the students’ shoes,” said John Singleton, SFA junior music education major from Houston. “The teacher gave us an assignment in Arabic, and being an English speaker, I didn’t know what it was. It made me think, ‘Wow, this is what immigrants and refugees go through.’ It changed my perspective on teaching in a lot of ways.”

This semester, Dr. Mary Catherine Breen, associate professor of secondary education and educational leadership at SFA, brought her students enrolled in a disciplinary literacy course to Las Americas Middle School to learn about immigrant and refugee students and their quest for English proficiency.

“This experience broadens students’ perspectives. No matter where our students teach, they will have English learners in their classrooms,” Breen said. “There are federal protections for the education of immigrant and refugee students as well as native-born English learners. It is important for our students to learn about the individual students who are afforded opportunity by these laws — not just the laws themselves.”

Las Americas Middle School is a newcomer campus that educates recent immigrant and refugee students who have no or limited English language proficiency and who often have had limited formal education in their native countries. More than 35 countries, including Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Burma, Guatemala and Somalia, and more than 30 languages, including Hindi, Swahili, Spanish and Persian, are represented at the school.

During their visit, SFA students learn about the school and how it differentiates in language-proficiency levels. SFA students spend time in the classrooms working with students who have varying levels of language proficiency on different subjects.

“When our students meet the students at Las Americas and the teachers who serve them, it personalizes the subjects we learn in the classroom,” Breen said. “While language diversity is increasing in the East Texas region, most English learners here are native Spanish speakers. At Las Americas, there are many countries and languages represented. Our students often think you have to speak the students’ languages to teach them; this isn’t the case.”

A social worker who works exclusively with immigrant and refugee students shared her experiences. For example, the social worker has spent time overseas in refugee camps and in countries where many of Las Americas’ students are from in order to gain awareness of the students’ backgrounds. She explained how trauma affects physical, mental and cognitive development and ways she works with teachers to meet students’ needs in the classrooms.

“SFA students learn about the individual students and their experiences. I can tell them about immigrant and refugee students and teaching students who are learning English, but it becomes very real when they see a campus of more than 250 students who represent this unique population,” Breen said.

SFA students not only experienced urban education while visiting Las Americas, they also heard stories from students from all over the world about their home countries, why they left, their journey to America and their experiences here.

“Las Americas is a beautiful program. It changed my perspective of refugees,” Singleton said. “I never knew the things they go through. When they tell you their stories, you need a box of tissues because it is phenomenal. The fact that the teachers are trying to actually help the students and do all that is necessary to help them progress is beautiful.”

Breen said SFA students learn a variety of lessons while on the trip, such as different methods for teaching a student whose language they don’t share; federal, state and community resources for these students; and methods for helping students who have experienced trauma and the psychology behind how this can affect learning.