College of Education News

Crayon-written letters and artwork decorate Corey Kasten's refrigerator. Kasten, a junior in Elementary Education and member of the Student Advancement Group for Education (SAGE), teamed up with fellow SAGE members to adopt a first-grade classroom in Skokie, Illinois. As part of this No Excuses University partnership, college students become pen pals with elementary school students.

"I wish you could have seen their faces when they saw the envelope from SAGE," said Ellan Miller, teacher of the adopted first-grade class. "They were so excited. It is really the cutest thing. They all read their letters and shared them with everyone else. I don't think you realize how much those letters mean to them.

"No Excuses University is a network of schools from across the country committed to providing every child with the education, stamina and motivation to be a college graduate," said Miller, who is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Miller's classroom, like Kasten's refrigerator, displays artifacts of the pen pal relationship. The walls are decorated with Illini apparel. Many of the students come to school dressed in orange and blue.

Both the elementary and college students alike benefit from the partnership. Kasten said it is particularly beneficial for her to communicate with elementary-age children, the group she aspires to teach. "Everything I am learning from the students will give me ideas on what to expect and will also help me better connect to the students when I have my own classroom," Kasten said, adding that serving as a pen pal allows her to serve as a positive role model for the impressionable students.

This program can be instrumental to a student's desire to attend college, said Josh Bodenheimer, SAGE president.

"In the education-driven society we live in today, I think it is imperative that every child is given the opportunity to be successful." Bodenheimer said. "It is SAGE's goal to demonstrate and spread our collective passion, not only for the University of Illinois, but also for education."

To spread that collective passion, Kasten collaborates with other SAGE members to generate ideas when writing letters. "We tend to ask a lot of questions in an attempt to get to know more about our pen pal, but we also mention current events, such as Halloween or Thanksgiving," Kasten said, adding that she and fellow SAGE members use a lot of color to make the letters more exciting for the children.

In their reply letters, the first-graders usually write about what they are learning in class in addition to activities taking place around the school. Bodenheimer said he wants the pen pal relationship to have a lasting impact. "Hopefully, down the road, the first-graders will be in the shoes of current SAGE members; writing to younger generations of children and passing on the importance of an education."

After the latest batch of letters, Miller described the excitement that permeated her classroom. "If any SAGE members are ever in the area, we would really love to have you come and visit our classroom."

In the meantime, Miller said, the little hands have picked up their crayons to reply. "We will be working on our letters... This is such a great project. I truly appreciate all of the effort SAGE is putting into this."

And from that classroom in Skokie, Illinois to the hands of Corey Kasten, at least one of those letters will make its way onto Kasten's refrigerator.

For more information about the College of Education, contact our Communications Office at 217-244-8335 or email communications@education.illinois.edu