Briar Cliff Launches Early Intervention Partnership for Elementary Students
SIOUX CITY, Iowa –
Briar Cliff University’s Department of Education will
host 54 fourth grade students from Sioux City’s Riverside
Elementary School on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2009 on the Briar Cliff
campus as a part of the University’s Pen Pal Partnership, an
early intervention program.
“In the Pen Pal Partnership, the
elementary students will be paired with Briar Cliff elementary
education majors,” said Sister Kathy Knipper, O.S.F., Ed.D.,
associate professor of education at BCU. “These Briar
Cliff teacher candidates will serve as role models, guiding the
fourth graders in their academic goal-setting, including
pursuing a college degree.”
In addition to campus visits, the
program requires the fourth graders and their BCU mentors to be
pen pals by exchanging monthly letters. “This letter writing
exercise will give the elementary students practice in their
communication and letter-writing skills,” Dr. Knipper explained.
“Experiencing the Briar Cliff University
campus and college atmosphere in this way reinforces the
goal-setting lessons our fourth graders are learning in class,”
said Doug Robbins, principal, Riverside Elementary School. “Many
of our students are not familiar with what it truly means to
attend college. Participating in this program increases their
chances of setting and reaching this goal.”Briar Cliff University is a Catholic
institution with an enrollment of more than 1,100 students from
24 states and four countries. Students are educated in the
Franciscan tradition of excellence in the liberal arts and
career preparation in an environment of care and compassion. For
more information, please visit
briarcliff.edu.
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