Site Coordinator: Caroline Walker, ccwalker@adams14.org
UC Denver Site Professors: Carol Younghans, carol.younghans@ucdenver.edu
Principal: Samara Williams, swilliam@adams14.org
Welcome to Rose Hill Elementary School! My name is Carol Younghans and I have the honor of being Rose Hill's Site Professor. As Site Professor, my primary responsibility is to provide coaching, instruction, and support for the Teacher Candidates (T.C.'S) who come to us from UC Denver's Teacher Education program. We consider our T.C.'S to be a vital part of our learning community.
Rose Hill Elementary School is truly a community that celebrates the joy of learning on every level and in every way. Students learn from their
teachers and teachers learn from their students. Teacher Candidates learn from the best practices of their highly experienced Clinical Teachers; and Clinical Teachers learn from all the leading-edge ideas and teaching strategies their Teacher Candidates bring from the University. Our children, of course, learn from their parents and their parents learn from their children. Just recently, a Rose Hill Teacher Candidate wrote in her journal about how one of her kindergarten students is teaching his Spanish-speaking parents to speak English! This dynamic of reciprocal learning is very exciting and I'm delighted to be part of it.
Rose Hill has been a proud Partner School for 15 years. We know that by partnering with the University, we are part of a larger professional
learning community and a collaborative effort that strengthens everyone involved. Samara Williams, our principal, has been a strong member and supporter of the Partnership for 13 years. She began as a Clinical Teacher; held the position of Adams County School District Partnership Coordinator for three years; and is now a Partner School Principal. Toni Kboudi, our building-level Partnership Site Coordinator, was herself a Teacher Candidate; was then a Clinical Teacher for several years; and served last year as District Partnership Coordinator. Our current instructional staff of 33 teachers includes 15 who are former Teacher Candidates. Right now, six of these are Clinical Teachers who coach, mentor, and supportour most recent T.C.'S. Thus, the circle of collaboration and reciprocal learning continues to grow at Rose Hill.
Our ultimate goal is to provide the very best learning experiences for our students in a safe and loving environment. All students are taught and nurtured in the practice of our Positive Behavior Support Program, R.O.S.E. (Respect, Others, Self, and Environment). The hallways are alive with evidence of student learning, such as delightfully original pieces of writing and wonderfully creative art projects. Classrooms are energized by students and teachers engaged in instructionally purposeful learning activities. For example, a fifth grade class guided by their teacher, recently role-played being servers in a popular restaurant. Using real menus and wearing colorful neckties from their teacher’s eclectic collection, these students had great fun while practicing their skills in double-digit addition and subtraction and using decimals. They took menu orders from their "customers" (their teacher; their T.C.; Mrs. Williams, their principal; and me), letting us know how much we owed in total for our three-item meals and providing us with the correct change. They not only demonstrated their math skills, but good manners as well. At Rose Hill, we encourage this kind of engaging, meaningful, learning and authentic assessment.
Come join us and celebrate the joy of learning at Rose Hill Elementary School! We will support you in every way on your journey to becoming a teacher.