Tabatha Chitwood ’19, a third grade teacher at Ferrum Elementary, transitioned to virtual learning in March due to COVID-19.
Alumna Tabatha Chitwood ’19 knew she was always meant to be a teacher.
“I did a co-op my senior year [in high school] and loved it, but I had children first before going to college,” she explained. Chitwood spent her pre-college years working as a restaurant manager, server, and bartender, but never lost her drive to educate children.
She attended Virginia Western Community College for regular classes, and dabbled with becoming a nurse, but ultimately decided to pursue her teaching dream by enrolling as a non-traditional student in Ferrum College’s teacher education program. She graduated in May 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts.
“I was a single mother of two boys that played soccer and football. I was busy working two jobs full-time. But I found balancing everything easy because I am used to doing everything on my own,” she said.
In fact, Chitwood found higher education to be so manageable and worthwhile, she has enrolled at Liberty University to pursue a master’s degree in administration and supervision, with the goal of eventually becoming a principal or administrator. “But I will be teaching for a long time first, because I enjoy it,” said Chitwood.
After graduating from Ferrum, Chitwood was hired as a third grade teacher at Ferrum Elementary School.
“It was evident from the first day of school that Tabatha made instant connections with her students and throughout the year formed a bond that helped every student be successful,” said Jennifer Talley, principal at Ferrum Elementary. “Her classroom is a fun and engaging place for students to learn. She provides a variety of hands-on activities to enrich the learning experience for every student.”
Little did Chitwood know that her first year teaching would be so unusual. On March 13, 2020, Franklin County Public Schools closed abruptly for the remainder of the school year to tamp down the spread of the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19.
“Transitioning to virtual learning was hard,” said Chitwood. “We continued using Google Classroom, which is something that we did from the first week of school. That part was easy. Technology is easy and fun for me. The hard part was not seeing my students in person.”
“I am sure she never expected her first year of teaching to transition so quickly from a typical classroom to a virtual classroom. Not only did Tabatha accept the challenge, she embraced the opportunity to provide the richest experiences for all of her students,” said Talley.
Chitwood worked diligently to conduct weekly Google Meets for her students to stay in touch. She also made the work interactive, assigning virtual field trips and hands-on projects like building solar ovens so students could harness the sun’s power to make s’mores.
She said transitioning to virtual learning during her first year of teaching went smoothly, thanks in part to the teaching strategies she learned at Ferrum College.
Chitwood is looking forward to hopefully returning to her in-person classroom in the fall. She is using the summer to continue dreaming up unique and creative ways for her next class to learn, noting “I just hope my students will look back and say I had a positive impact on their lives.”
Learn more about Ferrum College’s teacher education program, including the new elementary education major, here.
One hundred percent of Ferrum College’s teacher education program graduates are employed, according to data gathered across three years, from 2016, 2017, and 2018.
Ferrum College teacher education program graduates: spring 2017 (top); spring 2018 (left); fall 2018 (right).
“Approximately ninety percent of our graduates secure full-time employment in their endorsement area by the start of the next school year,” explained Assistant Professor of Teacher Education Christine Christianson. “It is typical for several of our student teachers to interview for and be offered positions before graduation in May. Graduates who are not employed full-time by the start of the school year in August typically work part-time coaching or teaching in a district they targeted until a full-time position in their endorsement area becomes available.”
Franklin County Public Schools has hired forty-seven percent of Ferrum College’s teacher education graduates. The other graduates are teaching in South Carolina, North Carolina, and all over Virginia, including Southwest Virginia, Northern Virginia, Tidewater/Hampton Roads, Southside, and Piedmont regions. Employment data for May 2019 Ferrum College teacher education program graduates will be available in spring 2020.
This fall 2019, Ferrum College began offering courses for a new Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education. This degree comes with the state education board’s approval of 53 new teaching preparation programs and allows Ferrum College students interested in teaching in an elementary school setting to earn a degree focused in elementary education.
Christianson explained that Ferrum College usually has more elementary education students than other endorsement areas. Over the last three years, sixty-three percent of Ferrum’s teacher education graduates received an elementary endorsement (pre-kindergarten through sixth grade); twenty-three percent received an endorsement in health and physical education in all grades; and fourteen percent earned an endorsement in secondary subjects, like social studies and English, for sixth grade to twelfth grade.
Ferrum College teacher education program graduates: spring 2016 (top); fall 2016 (bottom).
“Well-prepared educators are influencers at a critical time in the development of elementary-aged children,” said Ferrum College Provost Aimé Sposato. “Our new four-year elementary education degree provides future teachers with the skills and hands-on experience in the classroom they will need to gain employment in school districts throughout the state and region. Our dynamic faculty share their passion and expertise as experienced educators with the students and guide them through the licensure and job search process.”
Christianson noted there is a teacher shortage crisis across the nation. “In Virginia last year, there were one thousand unfilled teacher positions on the first day of school. At Ferrum, we have the capacity to grow our teacher education program, and we are working to do that in several ways: we are offering a dual credit education course at Franklin County High School beginning in Spring 2020; we are participating in campus activities such as the Academic Majors Fair, Academic Fair Open House, and Major Decision Day to promote our program; and we promote our program and our students’ achievements on social media,” said Christianson.
Ferrum College teacher education graduates are proud of the knowledge they received in the program. “Being part of the teacher education program at the College was simply amazing,” explained Tabatha Chitwood, who graduated this past spring and is now a third grade teacher at Ferrum Elementary School. “Not only was I provided with various opportunities to work in my desired field, I was able to make strong connections within the county I have always called home. I also felt empowered by the small class size and was able to make special bonds with friends that are now my colleagues. If I had to do it all over again, I would still choose Ferrum College.”
Learn more about Ferrum College’s teacher education program here.
Watch WDBJ-7’s coverage of this exciting news here.
Additional recent data confirmed an employment rate of 100 percent for spring 2019 teacher education graduates. Per Christianson, “All 14 of the graduates were offered and accepted full time employment during the academic year following graduation.” Data for spring 2020 graduates is still pending.
