Auburn College of Education literacy initiative at Beauregard High School builds confidence, community and future educators

Like many students his age, Ke'Zerrious Powell often let anxiety keep him from speaking up in class. Through a new literacy partnership between Auburn University’s College of Education and Beauregard High School, though, the ninth-grader is stepping forward — gaining confidence, building connections, all while helping future educators in turn.

“I’m a very anxious person,” Powell admitted. “I feel like this class has really helped me. I feel less anxious. I feel like I can say more out loud in this class than in other classes.”

What started as a reading lesson has become something much more — for Powell, his classmates and the Auburn College of Education students learning to teach. Through the new literacy partnership between the College of Education and Beauregard High in Beauregard, Alabama, a group of ninth graders and future educators are learning together, building trust and a shared sense of purpose in a classroom where everyone has something to give and something to gain.

An early field experience

Launched this fall by Auburn College of Education assistant professors Heidi Hadley and Tierney Hinman, the initiative pairs Auburn sophomores pursuing a major in English Language Arts Education with Beauregard ninth graders in a reading methods course that emboldens Beauregard students to read independently and then meet one-on-one with an Auburn student to discuss their reading and further develop their literacy skills. Hadley and Hinman facilitate the class inside Beauregard’s library, mentoring their college students in real time.

“What’s fun and different about this class,” Hinman said, “is that our preservice teachers — sophomores who haven’t been officially admitted to our ELA teacher preparation program yet — get an early field experience. It’s such a great opportunity for them to get to know high school students as the brilliant, fun and thoughtful people that they are.”

The dual model allows both groups to grow simultaneously, with Hadley and Hinman offering tailored support and modeling best practices as they go. Each Auburn student is paired with a ninth grader for the semester, creating space for connection and mutual growth. Ninth-grader Briaziah Rush said learning from the Auburn students has been “like having a best friend to talk to.”

One of her classmates, Ava Sanders, said she enjoys sharing her opinions on the books she reads and appreciates the feedback she receives from her college mentor. Davion Pitts agreed and said he found meaning in reading the book, A Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds.

“This has done a lot for me and has improved my reading,” he said. “It’s made me read more than I usually would.”

Monique Fuller, Beauregard’s library media specialist and an Auburn College of Education alumna, has seen the transformation firsthand. 

“It’s been absolutely priceless,” she said. “The students’ confidence in reading has grown so much.”

Igniting their passion

But the ninth graders aren’t the only ones learning. Auburn College of Education students are navigating their own anxieties and uncertainties as they step into the role of teacher for the first time.

“It has vanished a lot of the anxiety I had,” Auburn student Gwilym Lloyd said.

Lauren Van Wezel agreed.

“It’s been a huge relief,” she said. “I feel like it’s really getting us prepared for lesson plans.”

Emma Lewis has found value in recording and later reviewing the effectiveness of her lesson plans – a practice that all Auburn students involved in the initiative follow.

“That’s been really nice,” she said.  

For Auburn student Katie Gibson, the experience has been unexpectedly enriching. 

“I feel like I’ve probably learned more than they (the ninth graders) have,” she said, noting how she and other preservice teachers are learning how to pivot and improvise their lesson plans to best align with their student.  

“It just ignites our passions,” she said of being in an actual high school classroom.

Growing identities

Hadley and Hinman are intentional about creating a space that affirms student identities. They curate materials — from young adult novels to audiobooks— that reflect the lives and interests of their students.

“Dr. Hadley and I work really hard to bring learning materials into our classroom that are responsive to the students who are sitting in front of us,” Hinman said.

The program also includes enrichment opportunities, like a Reading Buddies partnership with Beauregard Elementary and a past field trip to an author talk sponsored by Auburn’s Gogue Performing Arts Center.

For Hadley and Hinman, the program is more than a teaching initiative — it’s a passion project.

“Absolutely this will be offered annually, as long as Dr. Hinman and I are breathing and Beauregard High School wants us back!” Hadley said. 

Though the workload of such an effort is intense, the College of Education has helped make it sustainable. And the rewards — for students, teachers and the community — are immeasurable.

“For our preservice teachers, we hope they are able to engage in the community to get to know and grow their own teacher identities and knowledge about adolescent reading so that they can create new and expanded opportunities for literacy learning in their future classrooms,” Hinman said. “For our ninth graders, we hope that we co-create a community with them that helps them find voice, agency and confidence in their own identities and skills.”

Opening Doors to Opportunity

Hinman believes the initiative embodies the College of Education’s mission to open doors and improve lives.

“To us, being in community in this way is about knowing ourselves and others in ways that make us responsive to each other’s identities, stories, strengths and needs,” she said. “And underlying it all, we hope to create a space — for learning and for being in community — that is, at its heart, joyful.”

The idea for the program began with shared values.

“Dr. Hinman and I are both former high school teachers who specialize in secondary reading,” Hadley said. “Last year, we were talking about how much we missed working with high school students, and how much of our own teaching at the college level would benefit from us going back to teach in a high school classroom.”

That conversation led to a reimagining of Auburn’s ELA teacher preparation program and the creation of a new reading methods course that meets at Beauregard High.

“We knew that we wanted to work with a rural school,” Hadley said, noting that several schools expressed interest and ultimately Beauregard was selected. “They’ve been so accommodating and supportive, and we’re really grateful to have such great partners in the community.”

The initiative also includes a robust research component.

“As teacher educators, we are really interested in understanding how ELA teachers and preservice teachers think about literacy and reading education, especially when they work with real adolescent readers,” Hadley said. “So, part of the research in this project centers around the idea of how we support ELA teachers to become really skillful teachers of adolescent literacy.

“The second part of our research focuses on the very real need in the field for a deeper understanding of frameworks for supporting secondary literacy instruction. So, we’re also researching our own practice as teachers with our ninth graders to develop a framework around the kind of coaching language that secondary readers respond best to and the kind of instructional designs and learning activities that address adolescent readers’ areas of growth by building on their strengths.” 

Those interested in supporting the initiative can do so in many ways — from donating classroom materials like young adult books and audiobooks to helping fund field trips and research tools.

“We also have needs for research supplies, like audio and video recorders, analysis software and conference travel to disseminate our research findings,” Hinman said.

Ultimately, Hinman and Hadley said it all comes down to a commitment to teaching the next generation — at Beauregard, Auburn and beyond.

“Our goal this semester is to build the foundation for a rich university-school partnership through a unique model that centers students, teachers and schools,” Hinman said. “Because Dr. Hadley and I are committed to teaching and learning that values and centers students’ identities, more than anything else this semester, we hope that our ninth graders and ELA preservice teachers have experiences that help them recognize and be confident in their brilliance while also expanding and deepening their literacy identities and practices.”

For Powell, who looks forward to the class each day, he said he’s grateful for the opportunity to read and express his thoughts while also helping Auburn preservice students face their own anxieties.

“I’m glad we could help them, too,” he said with a smile.