The Danbury Teaching Fellows

Beck Tate, Journalist

The Danbury Teaching Fellows, a group made of WCSU’s Pre-Collegiate and Access Programs, WCSU’s Education Department, and Danbury Public Schools dedicated to helping minority students in the 11th and 12th who show a deep interest in teaching PreK-12 ESL and Bilingual classrooms, hosted the 2022 Danbury Teaching Fellows Pipeline Poster Session on Wednesday, December 4, 2022. Nine Teaching Fellows presented what they learned and developed during their time in the program, including their teaching portfolios, philosophies of education, and lesson plans. Students Fathima Ahmed, Hannah Layton, Humaiara Akter, Maria Lalvay, Lesley Ramos, Anamary Samaniengo, and Yartiza Santana Jimenez were in attendance. The Teaching Fellows program offers two college-level courses to Danbury High School Juniors and Seniors, and have been for over 8 years now. Teaching Fellows who successfully complete the course earn 3 WCSU credits that transfer to DHS as an elective. The courses offered are TESOL Bilingual Intro I, and TESOL Bilingual Intro II. Intro I was given in the Summer of 2022 at the WCSU Midtown Campus, where an intensive 5-week course took place and participants gained hands-on experience developing and teaching lessons to up-and-coming first grade students enrolled in a summer program at Hayestown Avenue. Intro II was given in the Fall of 2022, where Teaching Fellows met after school at DHS and learned about the process and requirements for becoming a certified teacher in Connecticut. They finalized their teaching portfolios, which was presented on December 4th by each of the nine Teaching Fellows.