Tanginia Southall, who has been a faculty member at Moraine Valley since 2012, is one of only 40 two- and four-year college and university early childhood faculty selected from Illinois to participate.

Tanginia Southall, who has been a faculty member at Moraine Valley since 2012, is one of only 40 two- and four-year college and university early childhood faculty selected from Illinois to participate.

An assistant professor in the Early Children Education Program at Moraine Valley Community College has been selected as a Gateways to Opportunity Faculty Fellow representing the college in a statewide early education initiative.

Tanginia Southall, who has been a faculty member at Moraine Valley since 2012, is one of only 40 two- and four-year college and university early childhood faculty selected from Illinois to participate.

“I feel honored to be selected for this fellowship,” said Southall, who has taught pre-school, pre-school special education and second grade in the Chicago Public School system. “I’m really looking forward to working with my early childhood colleagues from across the state. It’s a nice honor and a wonderful opportunity.”

Gateways to Opportunity is a professional development organization in Illinois that helps train the early childhood workforce in the state. As an entitled institution, Moraine Valley’s classes are aligned with the Gateways competencies. Faculty selected for this fellowship will focus on assessments of the competencies. “Because I’ve already worked with the assessments and competencies, I can tell them what works with my students or give suggestions on what we can do to make those assessments better,” Southall said. “It’s really going to directly impact our students in a positive way.”

The group begins its work in late March in Bloomington, IL, and will have several meetings throughout the summer and fall before concluding the fellowship in late fall. The results will be added to the Gateways toolbox on its website where early childhood faculty across the state will have access to the assessments, Southall said, so they can incorporate them into their classrooms.