Nurturing Minds, Forging Connections

Urban Immersion program strengthens student experience

As fourth-grade teacher Spencer King prepares for his fourth year of teaching in the Wayne Township School district in Indianapolis, he reflects on what he calls the keystone of his educational experience at Ball State—the Urban Immersion Internship Program.

“I was able to be in the classroom all day for most days of the week—and when I wasn’t, my courses with Ball State professors helped me embed and connect what I was learning to my experiences in the classroom,” said Mr. King, ’20. “Putting theory into practice in real time developed my pedagogy and broadened my perspective as a future teacher more than what I believe I would be capable of remaining on campus.”

For nearly 30 years, the Urban Immersion Internship program, designed for the final year for Elementary Education majors, has placed prospective teachers into classrooms in Indianapolis, fully immersing them in the schools and community from day one. They work with mentor teachers in the classroom, lending an extra pair of hands and fresh perspectives. Currently, most students are placed at Rhoades Elementary in Indianapolis’ Metropolitan School District of Wayne Township (MSD).

MSD of Wayne Township has three high schools, three middle schools, eleven elementary schools, and a preschool center, serving nearly 16,500 students. Rhoades Elementary is racially and culturally diverse, with nearly 20 percent of the students who are English Learners.

“There are about eight different languages spoken within the (Rhoades Elementary School),” said Dr. Veronica Fife-Demski, assistant professor of Elementary Education and director of the Urban Immersion Internship Program at Ball State. “I think this is such a highlight because we focus a lot on teaching English language learners.”

Internship participants find housing in Indianapolis; their Ball State courses are taught in a nearby church so they do not have to travel to campus, and they quickly become members of the community. The program also requires nine hours of service within the community so students can gain a deeper understanding of the area and incorporate culturally relevant lessons into their teaching plans.

Ball State students in the program begin the year in late July. That time, even before the school year begins, allows them to learn the school, prepare the classroom, and form a bond with their mentor teacher. They also can participate in activities, including parent/teacher conferences, family nights, ice cream socials, and other community events.

Unlike typical practicum experiences, which provide a total of about 30 hours of classroom practice, the Urban Immersion program has students in the classroom three or four days per week working directly with a mentor teacher, accruing nearly 400 hours of valuable experience. Then, in the Spring, they student teach, most often in the same location, but typically at a different grade level for a varied experience.

“By then, they already know the lay of the land,” said Dr. Fife-Demski. “They’ve formed relationships with their mentor teacher and feel comfortable with the school. Because of this, their comfort level is so much higher, and it’s a smooth transition into student teaching.”

Typically, in early Spring, students in the internship program are selected first for interviews for teaching positions within the Wayne Township Schools district before those jobs are offered to external applicants.

Because of the richness of the experience, nearly 50 percent of the student teachers in the Urban Immersion Internship program stayed within the Wayne Township Schools district upon graduating from Ball State. They connected with the kids and the community in unexpected ways and chose to stay.

“I am thankful to continue teaching in the same school district that I was introduced to through Urban Immersion—cooperating with colleagues and families under the shared vision that all students have a right to a quality education,” Mr. King said.

“My classroom is beautifully diverse, with students of different races, ethnicities, and linguistic backgrounds—all of which I learned to work with and teach better through my time in Urban Immersion. To this day, I am indebted to Dr. Fife-Demski for allowing me to participate in this program and to the teachers who worked alongside me and guided me into becoming the educator I am now.”