College of Education and Human Development

ECCU Education Forum

How it began

In partnership with the Educational Community Credit Union (ECCU), the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) at Western Michigan University launched a series of education forums that began in November 2014. These forums were designed to engage the community with topics, trends, and research in K-12 education.

“We wanted to find a way to bring students and teachers from our community together, sharing mutual topics of interest,” adds Dr. Regena F. Nelson, WMU Professor and Chair, Department of Teaching, Learning and Educational Studies. “Often, students find themselves caught in the middle between what they’re learning as a student on campus to being a teacher in the actual classroom. Like any field, invariably there is a discrepancy between what you learn from the textbooks and then experience professionally.” CEHD and ECCU hope to bring educators to the forum to share their experiences with students and bridge this gap.

Forum structure

The ECCU Education Forums are held four times during an academic year, two in the fall and two in the spring semesters. CEHD will co-host each forum with a local school district, working together to put together a panel and forum topic.

The Kingscott Award

Beginning in the fall of 2015, CEHD will present two teachers from the co-hosting school district to receive The Kingscott Award of $250 to be used in his or her classroom. The winners of the award will be identified by the school district because of his or her efforts and contributions to the forum topic. Kingscott Associates Inc. located in Kalamazoo, Michigan sponsors this award.

For more information about Kingscott Associates Inc. visit their website at kingscott.com.

About ECCU

Established in 1935, ECCU has grown from serving only Kalamazoo school employees, to serving the greater educational community, to now providing a full range of financial products and services to anyone who lives, works, worships or attends school in any of our 21 Michigan counties. The credit union exceeds $419 million in assets and serves more than 37,000 members.

Visit eccu1.org to learn more about membership.