Amy J. Warner, ELMAC ‘04
Fourth Grade Teacher at Northside School in Ann Arbor, MI
Background: Amy is a resident of Northville, Michigan and an engineer, who became interested in teaching while becoming involved with her own children’s education as they attended school. Amy is the mother of 3 children and a veteran volunteer in her children’s schools. Just prior to ELMAC, Amy taught fourth grade at a private school for four years. “Engineering was interesting,” says Amy, “but it’s not the same as helping students get interested in learning.”
Current position and the ELMAC experience: Amy sees the relevance between her ELMAC experiences and her current position. Her literacy instruction included running records, guided reading, and other techniques learned in ELMAC coursework. Her math instruction includes strategies for helping those students who really need hands-on learning. “In my math methods courses, I learned how to use manipulatives in meaningful ways,” Amy explains. Her work with fourth graders includes a range of math methods. “For example, I have two students who struggle comprehending abstract concepts; they need to be able to represent numbers with objects.”
Amy has also found that her ELMAC work on teaching students from a range of cultural and linguistic backgrounds has served her well. Her current district requires all first year teachers to complete a cultural competency course--and they are using the same text that Amy used in the ELMAC program.
Why ELMAC was right for Amy: Amy liked the close partnership with a talented cooperating teacher over the course of an entire school year. “You get to see what it’s like to go from beginning to end and then you’ve built that framework in your head,” Amy stresses. “It helps with understanding the pace of the year.”
Amy also appreciated the quality of her cooperating teacher and her field instructor, a former teacher, who met with her weekly to observe, co-plan and consult with her about her teaching. “My cooperating teacher really helped me; she encouraged me to focus on assessment driven instruction, which serves me well. My field instructor’s specialty was literacy; an area of study of great interest to me.”
What Prospective Students Should Know About ELMAC: Amy describes the ELMAC program as “very rigorous.” As she puts it, “You need to know that this year is going to take your full attention.” Because of that rigor, Amy believes ELMAC has provided a strong beginning to her teaching career. She found that potential employers highly valued the ELMAC program. According to Amy, “When I was interviewing, people said, ‘Oh, you survived that program!’
