Three local students were among the 26 Misericordia University student teacher education majors who recently received their student teaching classroom assignments for the spring semester during an orientation program in the Catherine Evans McGowan Room of the Mary Kintz Bevevino Library. The students were Noelle Lesisko, New Ringgold; Patrick Martino, Jim Thorpe; and Lindsey Campbell, Slatedale.

The program prepares undergraduates for classroom observation and instruction in public and private school districts.The Teacher Education Department at Misericordia University requires student teachers to observe student instruction for 14 weeks in two different classrooms as part of their educational and professional experience. Students spend the school day in their assigned classrooms at first observing and then gradually teaching classes.Misericordia's Teacher Education Department was one of the first teacher preparation programs in Pennsylvania to meet the state's more rigorous requirements. A recent report by the Pennsylvania Department of Education gave Misericordia high marks in many areas, but especially for its work to implement early and continuous field experiences, and for its extensive student teaching program. The department was fully accredited by the state in 2000.