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NCATE
Blue Ribbon Panel Initiates a
Mainstream Move to More Clinically
Based Preparation of Teachers
Washington, D.C. - The National
Council for Accreditation of Teacher
Education (NCATE) announced the
formation of an expert panel on
clinical preparation and
partnerships, signaling the
beginning of a sea of change in the
preparation of the nation's
teachers. The work of the Panel,
called the
NCATE Blue Ribbon
Panel on Clinical Preparation,
Partnerships and Improved Student
Learning,
will culminate in recommendations
for restructuring the preparation of
teachers to reflect teaching as a
practice-based profession akin to
medicine, nursing, or clinical
psychology. Practice-based
professions require not only a solid
academic base, but strong clinical
components, a supported induction
experience, and ongoing
quire not only a solid academic
base, but strong clinical
components, a supported induction
experience, and ongoing
opportunities for learning. This
redesign is intended to bring
educator preparation into better
alignment with the urgent needs of
P-12 schools. Such changes in the
way teachers and other P-12
educators are prepared potentially
have far-ranging effects on the
structure of schools of education.
The professional preparation of
teachers cannot be achieved by
preparation programs acting alone.
Intensive clinical preparation,
especially when it is
school-embedded, requires the
collaboration of all the
stakeholders represented on the Blue
Ribbon Panel. The group will issue a
report of its findings and
recommendations when its work is
completed, most likely near the end
of 2010. Some schools of education
have already developed rich
partnerships with districts aimed at
boosting P-12 achievement,
especially in low-performing
schools. NCATE featured a few
examples of these schools of
education at
a June press
briefing announcing a redesign of
accreditation to help schools of
education move
to a target level of excellence on
accreditation standards, and to
encourage institutions to create
Transformation Initiatives which
focus on P-12 learning needs and
improve the evidentiary base of the
profession. Also check out
www.InsideHigherEd.com.
Reform Bills to
Governor's Desk
Congratulations to the General
Assembly for passing groundbreaking
legislation on teacher evaluation
and alternative certification. The
legislative process brought together
all the education stakeholders to
produce a forward-looking and
durable set of reforms that will
help Illinois school children for
years to come and better position
Illinois for up to $400 million from
the federal "Race to the Top"
competition. The State
Journal-Register offered wrapups of
the
Senate
vote Wednesday and the
House
vote Monday. The votes were also
covered by the
Quad-City Times,
Illinois Public Radio (pc
link here,
mac link avail
here),
the
Decatur
Herald-Review
and the
Bloomington
Pantagraph.
The Chicago Tribune
editorialized on
the legislation earlier in the week.
New Rockford
Program for At-Risk Students
School officials hope that a
structured, small-school environment
is the answer for students who
otherwise would be on a path to
dropping out or expulsion..
Read more...
Race to the Top
Money
Enticed by the prize of $4.35
billion in federal money for
schools, Illinois and other states
are polishing their academic
credentials, legislating away
obstacles to reform and turning on
the charm.
Read more...
State Behind on
Payments to Schools
Say the words out loud to get a feel
for the size of it: Forty-five
million, two hundred and six
thousand, six hundred and fifty-four
dollars, and sixty-one cents.
That's how much the state is behind
in payments to your local schools.
Read more...
Financial
Capability Challenge
Meeting with students, educators,
and community leaders, Secretary
Duncan and Secretary of the Treasury
Tim Geithner recently announced the
first step in an effort to promote
stronger financial capability among
students: the National Financial
Capability Challenge. This
non-monetary awards program
challenges students to take control
of their financial future, by
learning about personal finance. It
also challenges teachers and schools
to incorporate personal finance
topics into instruction. Those
teachers who sign up to participate
will receive a helpful teachers'
toolkit. In March, students will
take a voluntary online exam to
demonstrate what they have learned,
assess their financial knowledge,
and learn more about why financial
capability is important. Top
scoring students from each school
will receive awards in April, and
outstanding teachers and schools
will be recognized. FOR MORE
INFORMATION, PLEASE GO TO
http://www.challenge.treas.gov/. |