GCU and Alhambra High School
By Jim Mostofo, EdD
Associate Professor, College of Education
The College of Education has been partnering with Alhambra High School which is located a block west of GCU’s main campus in Phoenix for the past three years in various ways. Initially, several students were sent to high school to observe and teach math. That initiative has continued on, and now includes students observing and teaching multiple subject areas (including special education) to Alhambra’s high school students.
A Beneficial Partnership
The benefits of this partnership for GCU have been enormous. Our students have been able to get placed quickly into a school very near to GCU where they have begun building relationships with the students and teachers at Alhambra. These experiences afford GCU students a practical view of education in action. They also are able to help our community by investing in the students at Alhambra High School, bringing their enthusiasm to the classrooms.
Summer Programs
More recently, Alhambra High School asked for GCU students to help during summer school. These students earn practicum hours as they observe experienced teachers, help students, tutor, and teach lessons. Overall, the Alhambra/GCU College of Education partnership has been a great success for both GCU and Alhambra. Most importantly, the students have benefitted.
To learn more about GCU teachers in the field, check out our recent blog post, Inspiration: 2015 Teacher of the Year.
More About Dr. Mostofo:
Jim Mostofo, EdD, received his doctorate in educational leadership and innovation from Arizona State University. His two master’s degrees are from Northern Arizona University and are in educational leadership and counseling. His bachelor’s degree is from Grand Canyon University in secondary education with a math emphasis. Dr. Mostofo’s experience in education includes 17 years of teaching middle school and high school mathematics before going to Arizona State University to teach and mentor new math teachers for three years. He returned to GCU four years ago to teach secondary math methods, classroom management and other secondary methods courses.
Dr. Mostofo’s research interests have been focused on using the Japanese Lesson Study with pre-service secondary mathematics teachers here at GCU. He has done multiple cycles of this research and is currently involved in a partnership with Alhambra High School in his latest research project.