Since joining St. John’s University, Regina Mistretta, Ed.D., Professor of Education, has championed efforts to improve the education of New York City school children. Her latest undertaking is the Internship Placement Project for School of Education students on St. John’s Staten Island campus. The project enriches their skills and practical learning experiences concerning school children, deepening their understanding of issues and experiences that confront today’s school-age students in and out of the classroom.
Freshman in a select Education course participate in a one-year internship at a nonprofit organization, based on the interests and needs of both student and organization. This required component of the course may include co-teaching at the Staten Island Children’s Museum in programs designed for children of different learning abilities and styles, or shadowing adolescent students with special needs at the Seton Foundation for Learning. Subsequent internships are offered in the undergraduates’ second, third and fourth years and is also a required component of a particular course. Fieldwork is accompanied by reflective on-campus group sessions with St. John’s professors and other interns in the project’s affiliated education courses. Interns also must complete an inquiry project each semester and showcase their findings at an annual campus conference.
“I’ve embraced the Internship Placement Project because it represents innovative thinking that responds to the realities teachers face in today’s classrooms,” Dr. Mistretta explains. “It counters the ‘one-size fits all’ approach I’ve observed elsewhere. Its unique collaborative efforts with nonprofit organizations, along with a tailored focus on the multiple dimensions of a child, provide learning opportunities that prepare teachers for the diversity they will encounter.”