KEARNEY – Three Kearney educators are being inducted into the University of Nebraska at Kearney’s Academy for Teacher Education Excellence for their work with UNK students entering the education profession.
Inductees represent professionals who work in schools as educators or as faculty members at UNK.
The UNK Advisory Council on Teacher Education will recognize the inductees at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday (April 24) at the UNK Health and Sports Center room 150-151.
Ed Scantling, dean of the College of Education, said the 2014 class of inductees is “very strong and representative of the many dedicated educators who commit themselves each year to working with future teachers from UNK.
“We are indebted to them for their long term work with our students,” added Scantling.
This year’s class includes:
Mary Iten, health education instructor in the Kinesiology and Sport Sciences department at UNK.
“Mary Iten challenges students to do their best. She cares about each and every student and strives for all to achieve,” said Scantling. “She pushes students to learn and does not give up on them. Professor Iten has made a great impact on many of her students who regularly continue to seek her advice once they have graduated and become health teachers.
“She builds strong, dedicated teachers and helps them to succeed by developing a close and personal relationship with each and every one of her students,” added Scantling.
Jan Jones, art teacher at Horizon Middle School in Kearney.
“Jan is very worthy of this award, as she has spent countless hours mentoring and supervising UNK student teachers in her own classroom, while also helping UNK place student teachers within the KPS district,” Scantling said.
“Jan is a dedicated professional who serves on state and national art boards and is definitely the go-to person when it comes to the Arts in the Kearney area,” Scantling added. “She has been an unbelievable ambassador for Kearney Public Schools and UNK.”
Clayton Seeba, fifth-grade teacher at Meadowlark Elementary School in Kearney.
“Seeba is an outstanding teacher and role model for UNK student teachers. He is always willing to accept student teachers and is an extremely positive influence on them as he works to mold them into professionals,” Scantling said.
“Clayton has been actively involved in the UNK Co-Teaching project since travelling with UNK staff to Minneapolis to become a trainer for Co-Teaching. Since that time he has continued to serve as a trainer for this very effective induction model for new-to-the-profession teachers.”
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Source: Ed Scantling, 308.865.8502, scantlinge@unk.edu
Writer: Todd Gottula, 308.865.8454, gottulatm@unk.edu
