Issue 4
Vol. 6
Feb. 2010 - Mar. 2010
National Center For Teacher Education Home Page     
Welcome to NEWSWIRE. This bi-monthly e-newsletter has been designed to bring teacher education and early childhood program faculty in Arizona important news, facts, dates and information that can be shared with students and used to enhance any education environment. NCTE is proud to offer this newsletter as a resource, and values your feedback, input and suggestions. If you have any questions or comments, please contact us at ncte@domail.maricopa.edu.

In This Issue
Top Ten Higher Education State Policy Issues
Educate to Innovate

Surging Enrollments at Community Colleges

True Costs of Student Success
Digitally Inclined

NCATE Panel Assesses Preparation of Teachers

 
New Links
Connect a Million Minds
Consortium for School Networking
Association of Community College Trustees
Alliance for Childhood
Digital Generation Project
Other Links
Newswire Archives
Campus Spotlight Guidelines
 
Upcoming Events

Future Educator's Association Annual Conference

When: Feb. 12 - 14, 2010
Where: San Antonio, TX

Maricopa Community Colleges Future Educators Conference

Becoming a Great Teacher: The Key Is Me!

When: Feb. 19, 2010
Where: Chandler-Gilbert Community College, Gilbert, AZ
Time: 8:00 am - 2:30 pm

National Center for Education Statistics MIS Conference

When: March 3-5, 2010
Where: Phoenix, AZ

National Association of Community College Teacher Education Programs 2010 Conference

When: Mar. 26-28, 2010
Where: Baltimore, MD

League for Innovation in the Community College Innovations Conference 2010

When: Mar. 28-31, 2010
Where: Baltimore, MD

Future Educators of Arizona (FEA) State Conference

When: April 1, 2010
Where: ASU Tempe Campus

American Association of Community Colleges

When: April 17-20, 2010
Where: Seattle, WA

NAEYC National Institute for Early Childhood Professional Development

When: June 6-9, 2010
Where: Phoenix, AZ

International Conference on Teaching & Leadership Excellence

When: May 30 – June 2, 2010
Where: Austin, TX



SPOTLIGHT MARICOPA
50+ Teacher Education Program

Rio Salado College (RSC) was recently awarded a $25,000 grant to support the marketing and counseling strategies needed to assist in retraining programs for baby boomers. The specific program at RSC will be aimed at adults over the age of 50 who are eager to prepare for new careers in education.

The grant, which was awarded from Civic Ventures and the Metlife Foundation, allows Tempe-based RSC to customize its online teacher certification programs for eligible adults who are interested in re-careering and pursuing teaching positions in early childhood, elementary, secondary and special education.

Read More      
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ARTICLES

Top Ten Higher Education State Policy Issues

The current economic downturn has increased the focus on the value of postsecondary education for individuals, as well as for communities, states and the nation as a whole. The public’s and lawmakers’ attention to issues such as college access, affordability, accountability and cost containment will further spur state higher education leaders to redouble their efforts to innovate and collaborate and in so doing help fulfill American aspirations in the wake of the greatest recession since the Great Depression. This  new report from the American Association of State Colleges and Universities presents the top 10 issues most likely to affect public higher education in 2010. The synopsis is informed by a scan of state policy activities of the past year, an analysis of trends and consideration of events that will likely shape the policy landscape.
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Educate to Innovate

President Obama has launched an “Educate to Innovate” campaign to improve the participation and performance of America’s students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). In addition to the federal government, this campaign will include efforts from leading companies, foundations, non-profits, and science and engineering societies to work with young people across America to excel in science and math. Through “Educate to Innovate” and other efforts, the Obama administration wants to
  • Increase STEM literacy so that all students can learn deeply and think critically in science, math, engineering, and technology;
  • Move American students from the middle of the pack to top in the next decade; and
  • Expand STEM education and career opportunities for underrepresented groups, including women and girls.
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Surging Enrollments at Community Colleges

According to Community Colleges Face Challenge of Strong Growth, the surging enrollments and expanding role in the nation's higher-education system at community colleges are creating the need for more capital and operating resources. In addition to President Obama’s call on community colleges to produce five million more graduates by 2020, continuing high unemployment rates and affordable tuition are also expected to contribute to higher enrollment at two-year institutions. The report notes that the surge will result in increased student-fee revenue, helping to strengthen community colleges' credit position and provide protection against further cuts in tax revenue or government appropriations.
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True Costs of Student Success

"Student success" programs of various types have proliferated on college campuses, driven by the reality that it's easier to keep current students than recruit new ones. The programs are popular, but are open to scrutiny about their effectiveness - and cost effectiveness. As part of a project sponsored by Jobs for the Future and the Delta Project on Postsecondary Education Costs, Productivity and Accountability, thirteen colleges agreed to examine both the full costs of first-year retention efforts focused on first-generation and low-income students, and the extent to which their success in keeping students enrolled produces revenue to help pay for themselves. The report suggests that a majority of the programs have produced gains in retention that went a long way toward offsetting their costs. Most of the others could not complete the analysis because they didn't have all the necessary cost and retention statistics (for students in the programs and for a comparison group).
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Digitally Inclined

Teachers are making significant progress in adopting digital media and using the internet for instruction, according to findings from a new survey by PBS. The survey, Digitally Inclined, aims to provide information about instructional needs and trends to education leaders, policy makers, and the media industry. The annual survey has been conducted since 2002 to examine educators' media use. This year, for the first time, it includes data collected from pre-K educators. According to the report, 76 percent of K-12 educators said they use digital media in the classroom, up from 69 percent in 2008. Of those teachers, 80 percent are frequent or regular users, though digital media use is less common among pre-K educators, with only 33 percent reporting that they are frequent or regular users. The study’s findings could herald positive changes in pre-K and K-12 education, including more engaging, creative, and collaborative learning environments and new and different resources that support rigorous, inquiry-based learning, as well as new tools for students to produce content and take charge of their learning.
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NCATE Panel Assesses Preparation of Teachers

The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) has announced the formation of an expert panel on clinical preparation and partnerships, signaling the beginning of a change in the preparation of the nation's teachers. The work of the Panel will culminate in recommendations for restructuring the preparation of teachers to reflect teaching as a practice-based profession. Practice-based professions require 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 PreK-12 schools. Such changes in the way teachers and other PreK-12 educators are prepared potentially have far-ranging effects on the structure of schools of education.
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Newswire Archives
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Campus Spotlight Guidelines
Showcase your teacher education or early childhood program activities and accomplishments in the Newswire by submitting the following to the National Center for Teacher Education.

1. ARTICLE about your program, activity, practice, policy, partnership, resource, etc.; include contact information, photos and a web address if applicable.

2. UPCOMING EVENT title, date, time, place, target audience, cost, sponsoring campus/program(s), partners, etc.

Disclaimer

The information on this Web site is intended to provide information currently affecting or related to the teaching community and community college teacher education programs. Links to other Web sites are provided merely for your convenience and do not constitute or imply endorsement by the National Center for Teacher Education (NCTE). Such external sites contain information created, published, maintained or otherwise posted by organizations independent of NCTE, and NCTE cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of information on such sites. NCTE shall not be liable for any damages, including, without limitation, direct, indirect, incidental, special, punitive or consequential damages, that result in any way from your use or reliance on information provided on this site.
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