Auburn Elementary School – Thanksgiving Food Drive Partnership
Dr. Erin Jurand’s Reading and Language Arts class raised $100, collected numerous canned food items, and donated a Thanksgiving turkey to support families at Auburn Elementary School. These preservice teachers spend every Wednesday in the field at the school, working one-on-one with first graders to practice assessment skills in crucial areas of literacy and to design targeted lessons that meet each child’s needs. The students’ commitment “to service reflects the heart of our shared mission: supporting students and families both inside and outside the classroom,” said Jurand, assistant professor of education.
Books Beyond Borders
Preservice teachers at RCU are making a global impact through Books Beyond Borders, an international literacy initiative that connects classrooms across continents. The project empowers future educators to research, select and share “mirror books,” or stories that reflect the identities, cultures and experiences of African or African American girls at the Jane Adeny Memorial School for Girls in Kenya.
As part of this effort, education majors in Teaching Literature to Young People taught by Dr. Erin Jurand, assistant professor of education, raised funds to mail the selected book overseas, helping expand the school’s library. Each preservice teacher chose a book suitable for girls in grades 9–12 and pitched their recommendation in a five-minute “Shark Tank”-style presentation.
To support the cause, students invited members of the School of Education to contribute $5 each toward the purchase and shipping of the chosen title. The class raised $105, which covered the cost of the winning book, Maya Angelou’s “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” and international shipping to Kenya. With $58 remaining, students voted to donate the funds to Auburn Elementary’s Thanksgiving Food Drive, extending their spirit of giving to a local partnering school.
