BETTENDORF, Iowa — Students at Pleasant Valley High School are receiving a hands-on experience learning how to teach.
It is all part of an in-school preschool, giving families in the community a more affordable preschool option.
In this program, which district officials say has been a part of the district for about 50 years, high school students become the teachers.
"It’s just like a really cool experience to be like ‘oh I’m one of those people teaching them like what they need to know,'" said Hazel Nelson, a freshman at Pleasant Valley High School.
Nelson is among the high school students learning lessons about teaching young kids, in turn becoming a teacher at the in-school preschool.
"It’s definitely one of those classes where you have to have a lot more patience," Nelson said.
Other students, like junior Elizabeth Finn, are embracing the challenge, too.
"Since I want to do it when I get out of high school I kinda just want to learn how to be able to teach preschoolers the correct way," Finn said.
The program is centered around a year-long class for high school students, providing the preschool students with familiar faces all year.
The preschool is open on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. On Tuesdays and Fridays, the high school students learn new skills to then implement on the next teaching day.
"They need to know that's a big responsibility, and that we are really trying to get these preschoolers ready for kindergarten," said Debbie Claussen, the Pleasant Valley High School teacher who leads the class.
Claussen has been teaching the class for more than 20 years, and hopes it helps inspire future early childhood educators.
"Even if they’re not, everyone’s going to work with children at some point in their lives, and so this works really well for them," Claussen said.
The class takes a hands-on approach to learning, for both the high school students and preschoolers. In turn, Claussen says that creates a more engaging lesson for both groups of students.
"They come up with activities in art and music and science and storytelling and we cover it all," Claussen said.
All of the instruction, from planning to teaching to observing, is all student led.
The program is popular, too. The district has consistent interest in the program, and does not have trouble filling the spots each year, according to Claussen.
"I hope they understand the awesome responsibility that they’re given when they have the opportunity to teach children," Claussen said. "And I want them to understand that they can really have an impact on a child’s life."
That impact is not lost on students like Nelson.
"This is their preschool years, just like everyone else went to preschool," Nelson said. "Those are some of the most vital years because that’s when you learn most of your basic core skills."
The class has also instilled confidence and taught the high school students patience, for both themselves and the preschool students.
It is a Pleasant Valley classroom where teachers and the lesson plans are focused on the students.