BYU Math Education Offer Preservice Teachers Paid Experience at Oak Springs

BYU Math Education Offers Preservice Teachers Paid Experience at Oak Springs

When Nancy Guthrie meets a new student at Oak Springs—a school embedded within the Utah State Hospital for youth receiving long-term psychiatric care—she watches, listens, and observes with the goal of answering a simple question: “What are you ready to learn?”” In her math classroom, some students might be learning how to add fractions, while others are jumping into trigonometry, all in the same hour. Many students have missed months—or years—of schooling.  She wants them all to be working towards learning grade-level curriculum.

Teaching them all at once, alone, is a tall order, even for one of our most decorated educators. So when Brigham Young University’s Mathematics Education Department proposed sending preservice teachers to work alongside her, Guthrie said yes, without hesitation.

Since 2023, that partnership has brought aspiring educators into her classroom several times a week, offering both essential help for her students and hard-to-find experience for future teachers. 

“I struggled to serve these students well before this program,” she says. “And now, I don’t have to try to do it alone.”

“This program has been invaluable,” Guthrie explains. “I have students who’ve missed huge chunks of schooling. Having these BYU students allows us to identify and fill those gaps effectively, offering personalized help I couldn’t easily manage alone.”

For BYU’s preservice math teachers, this is often their first chance to dip a toe into real classroom teaching—before practicum, before student teaching. Rather than waiting until the end of their program to stand in front of a class, they get early, repeated experience working directly with students. They lead small groups, design activities, and practice critical teaching moves—like diagnosing gaps in learning, adjusting lessons on the fly, and asking better questions. Working with the Oak Springs students gives the BYU preservice teachers an opportunity to practice and refine the concepts and skills they are learning in the mathematics education courses.

Importantly, it is also a paid opportunity, supported by BYU’s Mathematics Education Department. The environment is supportive, but the experience is hands-on, high-impact, and often transformative. BYU Participants are working in a safe environment with real students in need, all while receiving a well-earned paycheck. 

“I was unsure if teaching was for me,” shared one BYU student, “But seeing students overcome obstacles in real time completely changed my perspective. It confirmed that this is exactly what I want to do.”

New teachers often don’t know what questions to ask—especially when it comes to classroom management, data-driven instruction, or student engagement. These are tough topics to navigate as an intern, but this experience helps surface the right questions early. 

The program also includes biweekly meetings where BYU Professor Dr. Tenille Cannon mentors preservice teachers using their classroom scenarios. Each meeting acts as a personalized time to offer strategies supporting both Oak Springs students and future educators learning to serve them.

“Our students learn to see kids not just as math learners, but as individuals with unique strengths,” says Dr. Keith Leatham, Chair of the Department of Mathematics Education at BYU. “We’ve intentionally structured this partnership to encourage our students to be proactive and creative, stepping into teaching roles as they feel comfortable.”

Former BYU participant Chloe Holdaway, now a fellow math teacher at our very own Shoreline Middle School, credits the program for her preparedness, similarly noting that the program “gave me an opportunity to work in a professional learning community where we were able to collaborate on the next steps for students.”

It is an invaluable opportunity for BYU preservice teachers– and just as importantly, the impact is immediately felt by our district’s teachers. To quote Guthrie: 

“The mentorship program with BYU has allowed the students at our school to benefit from the enthusiasm and expertise of pre-professional mathematics education students. My students appreciate the attention and encouragement they receive. I often hear the BYU preservice teachers celebrating with my students when a concept is mastered. Because our preservice teachers believe in the success of my students, my students believe in their success, too. My students and I love this program!”

Both Guthrie and Leatham hope this partnership continues to expand, becoming a core experience for more math education students at BYU. “We want to ensure this opportunity is known and prioritized,” Leatham says. “Students who participate often say it’s the most meaningful part of their education journey.”

Preservice teachers at BYU interested in joining the program are encouraged to talk to Dr. Cannon or Dr. Leatham.

Guthrie and Leatham agree: the experience is worth prioritizing. “Some students come in unsure if teaching is really for them,” Guthrie says. “But after working with these kids—seeing them grow, figuring out how to reach them—they learn early in their BYU education whether a teaching career is right for them.”

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