From Student to Mentor: Justine Freimanis Continues at Hood

Justine Freimanis has experienced Hood College as an undergraduate student, graduate student, and teacher. In 1997, she received her undergraduate degrees in Early Childhood Education and Psychology. She immediately got a job teaching in Frederick County Public Schools, where she has now been for 20 years!

In 2004, she came back to Hood for her graduate degree, an MS in Reading Specialization. As of 2017, she is the literacy specialist at Monocacy Elementary School, where she is also the Professional Development School (PDS) coordinator. This role has her organizing students from Hood and other programs, such as Frederick Community College, who come to Monocacy for their student teaching internships.

Even with this, Freimanis' work at Hood isn’t quite done. She is taking classes in the Educational Leadership program, working toward her administrative certification. Beyond taking classes, she is also helping future literacy specialists as a mentor teacher in the 2017 Reading Clinic, where participants in the Reading Specialization graduate program apply their skills working with elementary and Secondary students.

Ellen Koitz, head of the Reading Specialization program, is pleased to have an outstanding graduate back to help teach future literacy specialists. Freimanis attributes her continued affiliation with both Hood and FCPS to how the two work well together. She explains that “professors and staff at Hood work really hard to communicate with the school system, keep the focus consistent, and give the students an understanding of what is really going on with education in the real world”. She also states that she has had great experiences here with staff and peers. Hood is happy to have her back!