For the Love of Learning
Touro GSE Graduate Prepares High School Students for Next Step
The energy that students brings to a classroom re-energizes me, reinvigorates me. The way their eyes light up when they learn something new-- and creating an environment where students feel that way is important to me.
The majority of our students fall below the poverty line-- and in many cases, the first in their families to go to college. The mission of Kingsborough Early College Secondary School is that all students can and will learn and that all students have access to a college education and to afford students the opportunity to earn an associate's degree while they're still in high school. The more we can help provide higher education to students who typically would not have had this experience, I think the better our entire community can be.
Touro trained me to be an effective school leader. While I was in school for school administration, I was learning from people who had done this. It wasn't just theory. They gave us information that was indispensable to my career path. As a school leader, I want to make sure that I have a collegial environment where staff and students work together towards mutual goals, students are achieving success while teachers are achieving success.
So many times, we hear people say, I taught it, but she didn't learn it. Then you didn't teach it effectively. So I want to make sure that I give teachers the tools to do that-- to effectively connect with all students in the classroom. I want my students to leave loving learning. I want them to always have the drive to learn even outside of the classroom.
I hope that my students who were thinking about college before they came to me, that they would continue on that path and go as far as they possibly can. And for my students who had no interest in higher learning before they came, to look at college as one of the best options that they can have in order to improve their lives as they grow up. I actually really enjoy coming to work. I don't think I can wake up in the morning to do anything else.
For Touro College Graduate School of Education ‘10 alumna Tracee Murren, each day is an opportunity to make a difference.
“I really enjoy coming to work,” said Murren, interim acting principal of Kingsborough Early College Secondary School (KECSS). “I don’t think I could wake up in the morning to do something else. I come from a family of educators and I love everything about the field of education. There is nothing quite like making students aware of something they didn’t know before.”
Part of KECSS’s mission is to bridge the gap between middle school, high school and college, so their student body can see the goal of high school graduation and a college degree as within their reach. The school allows students to take college courses and earn their associate degree while still in high school. Prior to becoming principal and, seeking to transition to a school administrator role, Murren enrolled in the Touro College Graduate School of Education School Leadership track.
“Touro trained me to be an effective school leader,” she continued. “It wasn’t only the theories that I learned, but what I gained from the real-life examples the professors provided us with from their own experiences as school leaders. My education [at GSE] was indispensable.”
As a former teacher, Murren said that she is also aware of how important it is to ensure that her own teachers feel supported.
“My goal is to have my students achieve success while my teachers feel successful,” she said. “I want to give my teachers the tools to effectively communicate with all their students in the classroom.”
What does Murren want for her students?
“I want my students to love learning,” concluded Murren. “I want them to always have the drive to learn, even outside the classroom. I hope that my students that intended to go to college continue on that path and go as far as they can. And for my students who had no interest in higher learning, I want them to look at college as one of the best options to improve their lives.”
