Southeast Missouri State Universitys Student Missouri State Teachers Association (SMSTA) was recently honored with the SMSTA Service Project of the Year award during the 2019 Missouri State Teachers Association conference.
Southeasts SMSTA was recognized for a literacy walk project to promote literacy and the joy of reading at Jefferson Elementary School in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
We are honored that the state Student Missouri State Teachers Association recognized our service project, said Dr. Larry Bohannon, professor of elementary education and faculty sponsor of Southeasts SMSTA.
As part of the project, SMSTA student members took pages from a large formatted childrens book and attached them to foam boards strategically placed around Jefferson Elementarys playground. The Southeast students then walked groups of kindergarten and first graders through the story.
At the end of the story, each child received their very own childrens book, donated by the SMSTA members.
Southeast students Rachel Baker (left) and Eli Readnour (right) withDr. Larry Bohannon.
The walk, originally only planned for kindergartners, was positively received by the young students, and the school asked the Southeast students to also include the first graders, Bohannon said.
Because of the projects success, Southeast students will host another literacy walk at another local elementary school next spring.
Additionally, during this years Missouri State Teacher Association conference, two Southeast SMSTA members, Rachel Baker, a senior early childhood education major from Marble Hill, Missouri, and Eli Readnour, a senior elementary education major from Festus, Missouri, were elected to serve as ambassadors for the 2020 MSTA Assembly of Delegates.
Nineteen Southeast students attended this years conference.
Top Photo Caption: From left to right are Southeast students Savannah Kesselring, Clare Klinkhardt and Matthew Nagle; Dr. Larry Bohannon, professor of elementary education and faculty sponsor of Southeasts SMSTA; and Southeast students Brock Quigley and Rachel Stewart.