Comstock Park — If you peek into the hallway office cubicle of Stoney Creek parapro Susie Dennis during lunch, you probably will find her on her computer, doing homework of her own.
In fact, if you see her at children’s swim lessons or cheer practice, or drop in after they have gone to bed, you’ll probably find Dennis doing her homework.
Dennis is one of 48 participants who make up the first West Michigan Teacher Collaborative pre-residency cohort. The pre-residency program is for those interested in teaching who have some college credit and are looking to earn a bachelor’s degree and teacher certification.
“This has been an amazing opportunity,” said Dennis, who is set to graduate this spring with her bachelor’s in interdisciplinary studies.
“The online programming at the Brooks College (of Interdisciplinary Studies) at Grand Valley (State University) has been really helpful for people in my position — who are older, who have children, who have full time jobs — to be able to work at (our) own pace.”
The West Michigan Teacher Collaborative is a partnership between Kent, Ottawa and Muskegon ISDs and GVSU. It is funded by a $19 million Future Proud Michigan Educator Grow Your Own Programs for School Staff Grant.
Ever Thought About a Teaching Certificate?
Dennis, who had already worked at Stoney Creek for more than six years in various roles — from the lunchroom to her current position as a Title 1 paraprofessional for reading — admitted that she hadn’t thought about pursuing a teaching certification until last year, when Principal Robin Picarazzi asked if she had ever considered it.
“I was like, ‘No. Who’s got time and money to go back to school at 40 years old with four children?’” Dennis recalled. “Then (Picarazzi) said, ‘What if it is free?’ I was like, ‘Oh, that’s a little bit of a different story.’ You know, free education.”
Picarazzi said when she first came to Stoney Creek Elementary in 2022, she recognized Dennis had a passion for students and was eager to learn.
At that time, Dennis was working in classrooms assisting teachers as well as a substitute teacher. After only a few months in the reading intervention role as a Title 1 paraprofessional, Dennis said she “absolutely loved” working with the students.
Picarazzi said she still thought Dennis’s skill set was “not being utilized as well as it could be here with our population of students,” so she recommended the teacher collaborative program to Dennis.
COVID Homeschool Ignited a Passion
It was during COVID that Dennis discovered she really enjoyed teaching.
Several of her neighbors were in the health field and needed someone to watch their children, especially during school hours.
“So we had a little school set up right in one of our spare bedrooms at my house that we called ‘Mrs. Dennis’s School of Misfits,’” she said. “I had six kids that were over all the time that I would make sure they were getting all their school lessons done, and I really enjoyed it.”
The passion only grew, so in 2023 Dennis decided to complete the required essay that led to a full-day interview, and finally, the WMTC offer. She started classes in January 2024.
Dennis had some college credits from when she had pursued a psychology degree. To earn the bachelor’s degree in the pre-residency program, participants are required to complete in up to two years at least 30 credits through GVSU.
After a participant has earned a bachelor’s degree, they enter the WMTC residency program, where they earn a teaching certificate the first year, and are lead teachers supported by WMTC the second and third years.
“It’s so all-encompassing, and you learn so many different things from so many different areas, that I think all of those together are going to be so beneficial,” Dennis said, noting that she took accelerated classes in such topics as psychology, sociology, math and history education.
Set to graduate in a few months, Dennis said she is excited about the next step: being able to student teach in a classroom.
“I’m going to be doing young fives to third grade,” she said. “I’d also like to get my reading endorsement because I want my classroom, but I would love to come back to (reading intervention work). I like small groups. I like being able to work so closely with those kids. I think that’s important, because a lot of these kids need that direct one on one. So I’d love to get back to that someday.”
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