By STEFANIE HILL

Staff Writer

To show its appreciation for students with hopes of becoming teachers, the College of Education is giving those students a shiny new apple.

A+PEL, Associated Professional Educators of Louisiana, is a new student organization, which received its official charter Dec. 10, 2003.

Miranda Owens, A+PEL president at Tech and a graduate student of elementary education, said A+PEL is a professional organization designed to help education majors in their professional development as future teachers.

"This organization is wonderful for education majors because it is an opportunity to meet and converse with fellow classmates, as well as partake in a variety of benefits," Owens said.

According to http://www.apeleducators.org, A+PEL is a statewide organization formed in 1987 to create a focus on excellence in education and to advance the recognition of teachers as career professionals.

Dr. Cheryl Sundberg, A+PEL's chapter adviser and an assistant professor of curriculum, instruction and leadership, said many of the other A+PEL chapters from the Louisiana area came to Tech's chapter initiation Dec. 10 to welcome them into the program.

"The University of Louisiana [at] Monroe's chapter not only came to welcome us in, but also gave us a beautiful engraved gavel," Sundberg said.

Owens said being part of A+PEL also has many perks such as free workshops, preparation workshops for Praxis II, a test teachers must take to teach physical education, and eligibility for a $500 student-teacher scholarship.

"All education majors are required to get some form of insurance when student teaching, and those who join A+PEL are provided with $2,000 worth of insurance cover for that year," Owens said.

Amy Scharf, A+PEL secretary and a junior elementary education major, agrees with Owens about the advantages of the insurance policy.

"I believe A+PEL is very beneficial to teacher candidates, because it will cover us in case something was to happen while we were in the classroom," Scharf said.

Sundberg said A+PEL keeps its members updated on impacting information with education, and its entire function is to give a forum to learn how to be a professional educator.

"A+PEL's major philosophy is to improve instructing, learning and understanding," Sundberg said. "Once you leave the university you need connections with other professors, and A+PEL provides its members with that opportunity."

Melanie Gleason, A+PEL treasurer and a senior elementary education major, said staying up-to-date on the latest developments in the educational area was one of the main areas that appealed to her.

"I am looking forward to the quality professional development opportunities offered by A+PEL," Gleason said. "I feel that being part of the organization will help me as I go out into the educational realm."