The College of Education recently gained national recognition from the National Association for the Education of Young Children and the Council from Exceptional Children, as part of their blended program.

“Early childhood program at UW-Whitewater is phenomenal,” senior and education major Erica Klefstad said. “I can honestly say that I’m lucky to be part of such a strong and rewarding education here.”

The program was created in 2001 to redesign the curriculum.

Simone DeVore, associate professor and coordinator of the early childhood education program, said it was created as a blended program for students to learn from the content in special education.

“Instead of taking courses from curriculum and instruction, students take courses from special education as well,” DeVore said.

The recognition was based on 10 accreditations UW-Whitewater must follow.

“We decided to enter that accreditation and we have to identify eight to ten accreditations that we use to measure how prepared our students are to teach all young children,” DeVore said.

DeVore said they provide rubrics for assessments, collect data on the students, and submit the data to see how to improve the program.

Not only has Klefstad received exceptional training, but she has also seized many other opportunities.

“I’m able to learn about the curriculum the district is using, get ideas from my cooperating teacher, see how she manages her classroom, and create a community within her group of first graders and try out small lessons,” Klefstad said.

The program was built for students to learn as cohorts, so students develop strong relationships.

“We’re able to take all early childhood classes together and create strong relationships with our professors,” Klefstad said.