EHE News
Alumna Matthews adds value to Project ASPIRE: Helping new teachers thrive in urban schools
Isha Trammell Matthews
As the first in her family to go to college, Isha Trammell Matthews achieved her dream with the help of full tuition support. It allowed her to complete a Master of Education degree from the School of Teaching and Learning in 2000, something her family could not afford.
With that degree and an Ohio State bachelor's in chemistry, Matthews chose to teach at her alma mater, Columbus City Schools (CCS). At Eastmoor Middle School, she specialized in 7th- and 8th-grade general science and 9th-grade science for high school credit.
"I had a strong commitment to the students I taught, not only because I had grown up and lived in the same neighborhood, but I also understood to some degree what their lives were like outside the classroom. I loved helping them become empowered to make a difference in their personal lives and their communities while I taught them science."
Matthews also enjoyed serving as a science teacher leader in her building. She modeled best teaching practices and co-taught with other teachers, facilitating a professional learning community.
But during her five years of teaching, she noticed how classroom teachers still worked in relative isolation day after day. She wanted them to have more opportunities to share best practices with one another, with higher education partners and with the next generation of educators.
So in 2005, she became a teacher on special assignment with CCS. In this role, she taught teacher professional development (PD) courses with a federally funded Teacher Quality Enhancement (TQE) grant, a partnership among CCS and five local colleges and universities, including Ohio State. The grant focused on increasing urban students' achievement in math and science at the middle school level.
"For five years, my role was to equip science teachers with the resources to teach rigorous, relevant lessons to 21st-century learners in urban schools," she says.
Joining Project ASPIRE to boost new teacher effectiveness
Matthews' experience with PD for urban teachers paid off. When the college launched Project ASPIRE in autumn 2009, she was eminently qualified to work on the partnership between Ohio State and CCS.
Funded with a $12.9 million federal grant, ASPIRE is creating an innovative model for preparing teachers. It will train up to 700 teachers in four years, at both the bachelor's and master's levels, to strengthen the CCS teaching workforce in mathematics, science and foreign languages.
The teachers in training receive targeted, extended support for developing their knowledge and skills to become effective urban teachers. Part of the support will be a teacher residency program that begins in the preservice years and extends into the first years of teaching. This approach aligns with a new state mandate for a four-year guided induction program for all beginning teachers.
Matthews works on the teacher residency program alongside project faculty, graduate assistants and other representatives from CCS, the Ohio Education Association, the Columbus Education Association, the Ohio Department of Education and the Ohio Board of Regents.
She operates as part of a team guided by ASPIRE co-principal investigator Barbara Seidl and ASPIRE faculty Associate Professor Adrian Rodgers to develop and deliver biweekly professional development for the CCS cooperating teachers. These highly qualified teachers are already working with ASPIRE interns currently enrolled in the college's one-year master's program.
Matthews serves as university supervisor to three of these ASPIRE interns. From her, they gain the perspectives of a Columbus City School teacher as well as an Ohio State science alumna.
Seidl, an associate professor, says, "It's wonderful working with all of our Columbus City School colleagues on this grant. Several of them, like Isha, are graduates of CCS and bring a tremendous amount of insight to our efforts. Beyond that, Isha brings a well-developed knowledge of providing professional development for teachers and a creativity that is necessary for such work."
Matthews says, "I am pleased to be part of an ambitious project that will also be a model for how districts and higher education institutions can partner to better prepare, equip and support urban teachers. My master's degree support was a priceless investment that allows me to work with Columbus City School students and educators and will yield returns for generations to come."
Learn more about Project ASPIRE.
Help make a difference with a gift to the college
You can make a difference with your gift to the college.
To help a student to become an alumna like Isha Matthews, choose fund #302808, the College of Education and Human Ecology Student Financial Aid Fund.
To contribute where the need is greatest, choose fund #301705, the College of Education and Human Ecology Dean's Discretionary Fund.
If you have any questions, please contact Tracy Kirby, Senior Director of Development, at (614) 292-5538 or trkirby@ehe.osu.edu.
© 2011 The Ohio State University - College of Education and Human Ecology. All Rights Reserved.
If you have trouble accessing this page and need to request an alternate format, contact the webmaster.