by Claire Miller
The College of Education’s Birth Through Five (B-5) Program arose from a vision Georgia educators had to create a rigorous, standards-based training program for students who wanted to work with children from infancy through kindergarten age, including children who are typically developing and those with disabilities.
All of the work it took to make this vision a reality – creating the teacher certification requirements, building a degree program around those requirements and bringing interested students into the degree program – was celebrated at the Birth Through Five Job Fair on Oct. 19 in Georgia State’s Veteran’s Memorial Hall.
Approximately 45 guests attended the job fair, which was designed to introduce the community to the first B-5 graduating class who will receive their degrees in December, to inform the community about the program and to allow students to network with area early care and education providers and agencies.
“We have a very diverse faculty and student mix in this program,” said Ruth Saxton, B-5 program coordinator. “And as we grow, we hope to create more partnerships with educators in the Atlanta community.”
Representatives from The Adaptive Learning Center, Atlanta Speech School, Bright From the Start- Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning, DeKalb Technical College, FIO 360, The Frazer Center, The Goddard School, the Metropolitan YMCA and Project SCEIs had booths set up to inform attendees about their schools and services. Students came with resumes in hand and spoke with these representatives about their possible career paths after graduation.
Attendees also had an opportunity to watch a slideshow presentation about the program and hear from its first five graduates, who each shared stories about their experiences working with children and what they hope to do after graduation.
“I believe that every child deserves to reach his or her fullest potential,” said Rukia Rogers, one of the five December graduates. “I want to continue building partnerships with parents and collaborating with children and their families.”
For more information about the Birth Through Five Program, visit http://education.gsu.edu/ece/BirthThroughFive.htm.
