Chicago Program Powerful Experience For MSU Students

You could say that Anja Gettinger and Marliese Temme got a unique perspective on life in Chicago—from the inside of a classroom. Both of them spent the summer in Chicago, teaching as part of the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) Summer Fellows Program.

The MSU interns said the experience of teaching in an urban setting like Chicago had a profound affect on them. Both of them were so excited by the challenges and opportunities that they would like to return to teach in Chicago or perhaps at an urban school in Michigan when they start their careers next fall.

“Teaching in the summer program was incredible,” said Gettinger, who grew in Rochester Hills, Michigan. “I wanted an urban teaching experience and now I know this is really what I want to do.

“The experience gave me such an insight into teaching in urban schools, and I used to be nervous about the internship at MSU but now I’m totally confident. I know what to expect in the classroom.”
Gettinger, who earned a degree in special education in the spring, interned at Chicago’s Beethoven Elementary School, which serves mostly low-income African-American students from the nearby projects. Temme, who also received a degree in special education, taught at Chase Elementary School, which serves mostly Hispanic and immigrant students.

The MSU teacher preparation students were just two of dozens of students from throughout the country who were placed in Chicago schools during the summer months. The district recruits students nationwide and uses the program to expose outstanding future teachers to Chicago. The district, the third largest in the country, serves 437,000 students and hires about 3,000 teachers a year.

Gettinger, Temme, and ten other MSU students in the program spent six weeks teaching in the summer school program along side mentor teachers. They received a $2,000 stipend for the summer and free housing at one of three Chicago universities. In addition, the fellows had the opportunity to meet Chicago Mayor Richard Daley at a luncheon in their honor, travel to the city’s various museums to learn about programs available for students and teachers, and attend numerous professional development activities.

It was an experience that Gettinger and Temme said they won’t soon forget.
“It’s definitely a program I would recommend,” Temme said. “It’s a great opportunity to teach in Chicago and to learn so much about the district and about teaching and the city itself and the resources that are available to you as a teacher.”

For more information about the Chicago Public Schools Summer Fellows Program, visit its Web site at www.cpshumanresources.org/Summerfellows .