Since high school, Western junior Cecily Beckers wanted to be an elementary school teacher complete with No. 2 pencils, pink erasers and an apple on her desk. Her dream is halfway completed since being accepted into the Woodring College of Education spring quarter.
Assistant to the Associate Dean of Woodring Carole Morris said Woodring consists of six departments, which include the Division of Teacher Education, and Division of Educational and Community Leadership and the department of Human Services and Rehabilitation.
In the 2007-2008 school year, there were 1,107 full-time students and 784 part-time students at Woodring College Morris said.
Woodring originally started as the New Whatcom State Normal School and has grown to educate the most teachers in Washington, assistant chair to Elementary Education Joanne Carney said.
"Woodring is recognized for its quality," Carney said. "There are certain qualities and certain standards of what a good program is and Woodring meets these."
Within the Woodring College of Education is the Division of Teacher Education where students are trained in elementary, secondary and special education.
The Division of Teacher education generally accepts 70 percent of first-time applicants, Morris said. More specifically, the elementary education department usually accepts 50 percent first-time applications Carney said.
The elementary department is more competitive due to the smaller size of the program and lack of Master’s program, Carney said.
"A lot of people who have wanted to go into elementary education have been dreaming about it since they were in kindergarten or first grade," Carney said.
When Beckers applied for Woodring, she felt uneasy.
"I didn’t think I was going to get in and was very nervous when I first applied," Beckers said.
Woodring also has a good record in placing graduated teachers directly in school districts, Carney said.
"Many school districts have confidence they will get a quality teacher if they have graduated from Woodring," Carney said.
Western junior Jana Sotka said the best thing about Woodring is the professors.
Students who want to be teachers want good preparation from teachers and Woodring provides this, Carney said.
Sotka was admitted this spring.
She originally hoped to be a pre-med major, but Sotka decided to switch to education because she felt more comfortable in a classroom than a hospital.
Sotka said knowing that Woodring was such a well-known and respected program also helped her decision.
Both Beckers and Sotka emphasized that their professors hope to make them well-rounded and multicultural.
"They really prepare us for a lot of different situations as well as focusing on diversity," Beckers said.
Every seven years, Woodring has gone through an intensive team of creditors from the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) that examines all types of documents and artifacts to make sure Woodring meets national standards, Carney said. NCATE also checks the quality of the departmen, Carney said.
"It’s a rigorous examination including regular site visits by national and state organizations," Morris said.
