Callie Scharf and Martrell Jones: Education in Early Childhood and Lower School
Martrell Jones and Callie Scharf had the rare opportunity to gain real-world experience this January Short Term without leaving the doors of Roycemore School. In partnership with Roycemore’s Early Childhood and Lower School programs, Callie and Martrell made the short trip downstairs to work as Teaching Assistants for Mrs. Smith’s Kindergarten class and Mrs. Al-Najjar’s 2nd grade class, respectively.
Their day-to-day responsibilities ranged from working one-on-one with students, to walking entire classes to and from activities throughout the day, to reading to the students and checking for understanding. Serving as teaching assistants provided them each an opportunity to gain authentic, hands-on experience in a real classroom setting. Callie and Martrell got to apply theory to practice, build confidence, and develop essential skills such as leadership, communication, and classroom management.
Callie, a freshman at Roycemore, leapt at the chance to experience something unfamiliar.
Martrell, a sophomore at Roycemore, went into this project with similar intentions.
The joy and reverence that the 2nd graders held for Martrell was very obvious to those passing by, as he led them to and from their activities. “An obstacle I faced initially was introducing myself and figuring out the schedule system of the Lower School, which was different than I was used to,” Martrell recalled.
Martrell was able to overcome this by putting himself out there and being willing to learn by doing. By the end of his time with 2nd grade, he had a stronger appreciation for everything that goes on at Roycemore outside of his personal experience. “Get to know your community. It allows you to see all the different things that are happening compared to what you are experiencing."
Mrs. Smith was particularly impressed with Callie’s ability to learn fast and implement what she was learning. “Callie was highly observant and did an excellent job implementing what she learned, using the same language and strategies as the lead teachers.”
January Short Term projects such as this one help students clarify their interests, strengthen their skills, and better prepare them for future work in education or related fields.
Learn more about our 2026 January Short Term Projects.
