Posts Tagged ‘urban education’

Evaluation: Residency Program Seeing Success in Boston

A recent evaluation of the Boston Teacher Residency (BTR) found that program graduates are making a significant impact in Boston Public Schools, providing more racially/ethnically diverse teachers and staying in the classroom at higher rates. A webinar hosted by REL Central earlier this month highlighted the findings and challenges of the evaluation, which was conducted by John Papay and colleagues at Brown University (RI).

The study compared BTR graduates to other novice teachers in the urban school system, asking the following questions:

  1. Does the BTR program prepare more teachers than other pathways in hard-to-staff subjects such as math and science?
  2. Are BTR recruits more racially and ethnically diverse than teachers from other pathways?
  3. Do BTR recruits remain in the district longer than other new hires?
  4. Are BTR teachers more effective in raising student test scores in math and English language arts than teachers with the same level of experience from other pathways?

Innovation at Georgia State University: NET-Q

The Innovations Inventory of AACTE’s Innovation Exchange is an online database highlighting members’ pioneering practices in educator preparation that have shown a positive impact on issues of student learning, preparation program advancement, or educator workforce needs. This blog post is one in a series highlighting entries from the inventory. To request inclusion of your institution’s innovations, contact Zachary VanHouten at zvanhouten@aacte.org.

Georgia State University (GSU) is the largest producer of minority educators in the state of Georgia and graduates approximately 500 teachers annually. GSU’s Network for Enhancing Teacher Quality (NET-Q) program aims to increase teacher quality in urban and rural areas in Georgia. The program includes both pre- and postbaccalaureate initiatives for educators serving high-need school districts in these settings.

NET-Q boasts a partnership with at least 15 rural PK-12 schools, local businesses, two historically Black colleges, and the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future.

Join Us in Supporting ‘School on Wheels’ at Annual Meeting

This post also appears on the AACTE Annual Meeting site.

Once again, AACTE has partnered with a local charity to give back to our Annual Meeting host community. Indianapolis’ School on Wheels will be collecting donations outside the Conference Community Center at the 2014 AACTE Annual Meeting.

School on Wheels works to break the cycle of homelessness by providing one-on-one tutoring and educational advocacy for school-aged children impacted by homelessness. Since its founding in 2001, it has trained over 2,200 community volunteers as tutors, provided tutoring to 3,913 school-aged homeless children, and distributed 2,148 backpacks filled with school supplies and 11,351 school uniforms to homeless children. In 2013, School on Wheels was named nonprofit volunteer program of the year by the United Way of Central Indiana.

March/April Issue of JTE Now Online

The March/April 2014 issue of the Journal of Teacher Education (JTE) is now available online. See what Volume 65 Number 2 has to offer!

  • In this month’s editorial, “Research as a Catalyst for Change,” JTE‘s editors at Penn State University relate the issue’s contents to AACTE’s 66th Annual Meeting theme, Taking Charge of Change. Heralding the theme as an opportunity to champion the role of research in informing policy and practice, the editors highlight the articles’ contributions to knowledge about innovative practices in the development of both preservice and in-service educators.

New Report on Cultivating a Principal Pipeline

A new report from the Wallace Foundation’s Principal Pipeline Initiative highlights practices for the preparation and support of new principals. Cultivating Talent Through a Principal Pipeline is the second in a series of evaluations of the initiative, prepared by Policy Studies Associates. It describes results from the initiative’s first 2 years as participating districts worked to beef up their principal corps through training and ongoing support.

Professional Learning Communities Support Principal Pipeline Initiative

As part of its Principal Pipeline Initiative, the Wallace Foundation last week convened its National Provider and Graduate Principal Professional Learning Community (National Provider PLC). I attended the meeting on behalf of AACTE, which is a communications partner for the initiative.

The National Provider PLC, launched in April, offers an opportunity for the initiative’s principal preparation providers, program alumni, and district administrators to collaborate in determining the most effective and efficient way to identify, develop, and support effective school leaders. Each district in the Principal Pipeline Initiative—Charlotte-Mecklenburg (NC), Denver (CO), Gwinnett County (GA), Hillsborough County (FL), New York City (NY), and Prince George’s County (MD)—also participates in a local PLC. In all, 20 principal preparation programs and 20 graduate principals are involved in this change-driving work, and, of the programs, half are AACTE member institutions.

Lessons From a Great Leader

Feyneese MillerOn December 5, the world lost one of the more important leaders of all time, Nelson Mandela.

Mandela epitomized what many in U.S. educator preparation programs hope to instill in our education leaders and teachers—a strong understanding of and commitment to social justice. Unfortunately, although we believe that all children and youth should receive a high-quality education and be treated with dignity and respect in the classroom, this ideal is in sharp contrast to reality.

Far too many of our children and youth, especially those in urban communities, are in classrooms with teachers who are underprepared or simply not equipped to teach those they perceive as different. Even as many of our preparation programs are implementing practices that limit “admission” to the field of teaching to those most ready to enter the classroom after rigorous study and strong clinical practice, the different pathways to the profession that some states have put into place may lead to an increase rather than a decrease in the achievement gap that currently exists between children and youth of different classes and races.