News
SMC Hosts Future Educators
Published on February 5, 2025 - 4 p.m.
Southwestern Michigan College’s Future Educators Day Jan. 31 was an intimate program for six prospective students from Edwardsburg and Three Rivers.
Professor Ranee Conley was the keynote speaker in her classroom, Lyons 219, explaining SMC’s two degree paths, elementary and early childhood education. She directs both programs.
“This is my 33rd year in public education,” said Conley, who joined SMC in 2019. “I taught for 16 years in Indiana. I was an administrator at the (intermediate school district, or ISD) in St. Joseph County. I was also a teacher and an evaluator at (Cassopolis-based) Heritage Southwest when it was Lewis Cass.
“If education is the right thing for you, you can do a lot of good, so I hope to keep people engaged in public-service professions,” she said.
Conley explained that when the Michigan Department of Education revised its teacher certification program, she served on a state committee that developed the new birth-to-kindergarten system and introduced clinical hours.
“Michigan is a birth mandate state,” she said, along with Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota and Nebraska. “Birth to 3-year-old services mandated from the federal government are funded through ISDs.” By comparison, in Indiana eligible children are served by separate entities until public school.
To Cadence, interested in working with preschoolers to third graders, Conley advised, “With an early childhood associate degree, you can be hired as a preschool teacher in state-funded GSRP (Great Start Readiness Program) or Head Start, which can sponsor a scholarship to pay for your bachelor’s degree if you have the capacity to work fulltime and go to school. Your degree is paid for while you gain experience.
“An associate degree in education is a baseline,” Conley said. “With an elementary associate degree you cannot be a certified K-12 teacher, so you move into a bachelor’s degree program. Even then, you have to take state certification.”
In his welcome in the Foundation Room, President Dr. Joe Odenwald said, “We all recognize the importance of education as a career that makes all other careers possible.
“I’ve been in education almost 25 years. I went to college and never left. In our area, in particular, we have a great need for educators. The college is always looking for ways to leverage partnerships to be a part of that solution.”
Senior Admissions Counselor Ben Spencer provided an overview of the college admissions process, financial aid, housing and application deadlines.
Emily Tuinstra of Wayland guided the rainy campus tour. She ran cross country for the Roadrunners while at SMC. After graduating this spring in elementary education, Tuinstra plans to transfer to Western Michigan University.
The tour was followed by lunch in The Birdfeeder, one of the campus dining options.
