Teacher Leadership Institute to be held for future teachers at Pitt-Greensburg

The Southwest Region of the Student Pennsylvania State Education Association (SPSEA) will hold its Teacher Leadership Institute at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg on Saturday, March 24. The program begins at 9:30 a.m. and will continue through 4:30 p.m.

This one-day conference will focus on teachers as leaders within their classroom, their community, and the PSEA. William H. Kerr Jr., EdD, superintendent of Schools for the Norwin School District, and Ms. Mairi Cooper, orchestra teacher at Fox Chapel High School and the 2015 Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year, are the keynote speakers. In addition to the keynote presentations, three breakout sessions with three additional choices for each will be held throughout the day.

Education majors from the Southwest Region of SPSEA, as well as SPSEA members from nearby regions, will be the primary audience for this event. High school juniors and seniors interested in Education were also invited.

“Pitt-Greensburg’s education program focuses on how to be a teacher in the classroom and within a school,” said Melissa Marks, PhD, associate professor of Education, director of the Secondary Education Program, and co-advisor to the SPSEA chapter at Pitt-Greensburg. “However, we want our students—and all teachers—to be more than that. In addition to being leaders within their own communities and schools, we want them to be able to develop leadership qualities in their own students. This conference will showcase the qualities that leaders have and how they inspire others to lead.”

Jeanne Burth, EdD, associate professor of Education at Pitt-Greensburg and co-advisor to the campus’ SPSEA chapter, will lead a session on how to teach in impoverished schools. She will call upon her experience as principal of a high-poverty school to help the participants understand the challenges in leading students living and learning in low-economic situations.

“I am so impressed with our students’ creativity and leadership, as well as their willingness to put in the time necessary to pull off a major event like this,” said Marks of the Pitt-Greensburg Education majors who are part of the Southwest Region SPSEA planning committee. The students included Andrew McDonald, chair of the event and vice president of the Southwest Region SPSEA, Lindsey Wittkopp, Kendra Moxon, Rowan Alexander, Carly Franks, and Ashley Brantley. “Their dedication is truly admirable, especially after their work creating an indoor playground for the Pitt-Greensburg Relay for Life event held March 17.”

Founded in 1963, the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg is a publicly assisted, four-year, liberal arts college in southwestern Pennsylvania. Pitt-Greensburg offers 29 baccalaureate degree programs, including new majors in Nursing, Healthcare Management, Public Policy, and Education, as well as 24 minors and five certificate programs. With nearly 1,500 students, more than 10,000 alumni, and faculty and staff numbering 260, Pitt-Greensburg provides a vibrant, diverse community that is a dynamic model of a 21st century liberal arts education. As part of the University of Pittsburgh system, Pitt-Greensburg offers the resources of a world-renowned university combined with the individualized and immersive experiences of a small liberal arts college. Creativity and an entrepreneurial spirit permeate the campus and extend into its many collaborative projects with the Westmoreland County community. Nestled in Pennsylvania’s beautiful Laurel Highlands, the campus is a five-minute drive from uptown Greensburg’s coffee shops, restaurants, art museums, theatres and boutiques and less than an hour’s drive from Pittsburgh.

 

Publication Date

Wednesday, December 31, 1969 - 23:00