Three smiles reflect the com- munity's pleasure at achieving a strengthened teacher educa- tion program allowing teacher certification (from left) Jim Batchelder (COA '87), Peter Corcoran, (COA Education Coordinator), Megan Pennock (COA '84). to the Board concerning COA and the importance of the opportunity to become state-certified. Paul Adler (COA '87), ex- COA NEWS plained to the Board that COA's goal was not to make a new program but to create the context to allow students to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to become SPRING 1987 COLLEGE OF THE ATLANTIC BAR HARBOR, MAINE good teachers. Megan Pennock, COA graduate, who now teaches in Freeport, told the Board ousness of commitment of its students." about her educational experience at During November 1986, a five-member Teacher Education COA. "Although I knew studying at review team visited the College to validate COA would not lead to certification, I the Self-Study of the Teacher Education Wins Certification kept coming back because COA gave me Program and determine whether to make the best background I could get to be the a recommendation for approval of the pro- best teacher I could be." She told the gram to the State Board of Education. Board that the most important things It's a new beginning for the Teacher Edu- The following individuals made up the about a COA education were the passion cation Program of College of the Atlantic. Review Team: Wesley Willink, Chairper- with which students and faculty go about On Wednesday, February 11, the Maine son, Science Department, Yarmouth Pub- learning, and the importance given to be- State Board of Education approved lic Schools; Vaughn LaCombe, Superin- ing a teacher. "At COA there is a love of 'COA's teacher education program to al- tendent of Ellsworth Public Schools; Janet learning I have never witnessed anywhere low students to become certified teachers Spaulding, Principal, Belfast Public else. If we can give children that excite- in Maine public schools for elementary Schools; Dean Bennett, Professor of Sec- ment for learning, we will be making a and secondary science classrooms. ondary and Science Education, University lasting contribution." In his opening comments at the Board of Maine at Farmington; and Marilyn Another COA graduate, Meg Scheid, meeting, Dean Bennett, chairman of the Crandlemire, Professor of Elementary now a naturalist at Acadia National Park, Program Review Team, told the nine- Education, University of Maine at remarked that because of COA's extraor- member Board that the full five-year pro- Machias. dinary commitment to excellence, the gram approval was "unanimously" and A large group of COA students at- College will always strive to evaluate and "enthusiastically" recommended. Bennett tended the Board of Education's meeting improve what it has. noted that the committee came away from which was held at the Augusta Civic As a concluding statement, Peter Cor- its visit to COA "impressed with the seri- Center. Several presented their thoughts coran, COA's Education Coordinator, Cont. on page 3 1 The studio class was designed to give a general overview of the historically Dates to Remember Former Student significant garden styles, an introduction to various ways of organizing space, and Returns to Teach a working knowledge of specific plants, Graduation Day: May 30, 1 p.m. structures and garden forms. Several of Elderhostel For adults age 60 or older. the weekly projects were centered on Anyone who visited COA last summer campus areas that need work, and if June 7-13 July 21-27 will remember the bustle of students as any of the models or plans are imple- July 14-20 they replanted and redesigned a number mented in the coming summer, we all Field Studies by the Sea For high of campus areas which resulted in an will benefit from having Nadine's input school teachers and environmental improvement of our aesthetic image. and energy here this winter term. educators. The summer projects also revealed the -Katrina Hodgkins June 28-July 11 July 26-Aug. 8 need for a class in landscape design to July 12-25 support the obvious student interest, and although the new Japanese garden Running Camp Sponsored by Bob and Sea Fox dormitory's circle garden Booker. are both buried under several feet of August 9-15 snow, the students' ideas continue to German Week Sponsored by the grow in the classroom. American Association of Teachers of Nadine Gerdts, a familiar face to German. many alumni and faculty, was chosen to fill the visiting faculty position and make Summer Field Studies for Children the landscape design class possible this For youngsters entering grades 4, 5, semester. and 6. Assistant Admissions Director for July 6-9 and 13-15 COA from 1980 to 1983, Nadine re- July 20-24 and 27-29 cently graduated with a Master's degree August 10-13 and 17-19 in Landscape Architecture from the Summer Lecture Series Harvard Graduate School of Design. July 15-Speaker to be announced. Nadine's first contact with COA was as July 29-Robert Ballard: "The a visiting student for one term from Discovery of the Titanic" Brown University, where she received August 5-Lord Asa Briggs: "19th her undergraduate degree. Her familiari- Century English Architecture" ty with both student and administrative On-Going Summer Programs at the philosophies enables her to be particu- Natural History Museum larly well-adjusted to life at COA, as well as effective in the classroom and Nadine Gerdts (right) reviews a landscaping Every day at 11:00 a.m.-Whales project with Katrina Hodgkins. on Wheels or the Naugahyde the field. Discussions of space were in- Whale. Afternoon programs: Birds- tegrated with a nighttime cross-country on-Wings, Footprints, and Owl ski assignment, truly in the COA spirit. Pellets. Every Monday and Friday Nadine's teaching schedule was ar- afternoon at Sieur de Monts: ranged to allow her to commute from Report from Naugahyde Whale. Wednesday Boston weekly while continuing her Evening Speaker Series: Speakers work for Boston Urban Gardeners, a Allied Whale to be announced. non-profit organization which works primarily on projects for gardens and parks in low-income areas. "Planning at On January 17, College of the Atlantic a neighborhood scale is very satisfying," was awarded a $13,000 grant from The she said. "I have worked on a small Island Foundations to help support the number of large-scale projects for gov- new North Atlantic Finback Whale ernment agencies and appreciate work- Catalogue. COA Research Associate ing with a more specific client than the Beverly Agler is Project Director and general public." Steve Katona is Principal Investigator. Though Nadine is currently establish- Additional support for this work is ing herself in the realm of landscape coming from Allied Whale's new Adopt- design, she says,"I hope to incorporate A-Finback project, directed by Beverly teaching and professional practice regu- Agler and assisted by COA Research larly in the future. Teaching is a good Associate Bob Bowman. The project has way to exchange fresh ideas, and the received nationwide coverage via UPI, classroom is an appropriate setting for with news articles appearing in news- working out design problems with a papers in 15 states. greater degree of freedom and abstrac- Allied Whale was also the subject of tion than one sometimes finds in the a recent news release from the IBM cor- Youngsters learn how to paddle a canoe as work place. My main goal is to help poration that featured the use of IBM part of a Summer Field Studies for Children program offered by the Natural History students develop a creative design equipment for mapping and analyzing Museum. sense." whale sightings. 2