Welcome to NEWSWIRE. This monthly e-newsletter has been designed to bring K-12 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.
The role of community colleges in preparing the next generation of teachers in U.S. classrooms continues to evolve. A new ECS Issue Paper, Community Colleges and Teacher Preparation: Roles, Issues and Opportunities, articulates how community colleges are well positioned to provide the customized programs and strategies that are needed to meet regional workforce needs and positively impact the field of teacher education.
Accreditation teams are telling community colleges that their capacity for institutional research (IR) and assessment of learning needs to be improved. State governments are also increasing demands on colleges for data, particularly as part of performance accountability systems. This report presents findings from a study conducted by the Community College Research Center about how well prepared today’s community colleges are in moving toward the greater use of data and research to improve student success. The study finds that community colleges wanting to expand the role of IR face several challenges in terms of resources, data collection, and institutional priorities. It also indicates that college leadership is a key component in promoting the expansion of IR capacity and changes in organizational practice that will move institutions toward greater use of data to improve institutional performance.
A new Business-Higher Education Forum (BHEF) report, An American Imperative: Transforming the Recruitment, Retention, and Renewal of Our Nation's Mathematics and Science Teaching Workforce, addresses the critical shortage of high quality mathematics and science teachers, the lack of which threatens the strength, innovation, and productivity of America's economy. The report proposes a comprehensive action plan to elevate the status of the teaching profession and focuses on transforming three key components that contribute to a robust, world-class teaching workforce: recruitment, retention, and renewal. In order for the coordinated reform effort to succeed, BHEF believes the federal government, state governments, school districts, higher education, and business and foundations have a key role to play.
The results of the Arizona Teacher Working Conditions Survey, sponsored by Governor Napolitano and the Arizona Education Association, have been released. Every licensed teacher, counselor, librarian and principal in the state's district schools had the opportunity to complete the survey, and nearly 32,000 (93% of which were teachers) did so. Results indicate that most teachers think their classes are too big to attend to the needs of each student, only 60% feel they have adequate teaching materials and technology, and the majority spend at least five to 10 hours a week working beyond the official school day. Although most teachers say they plan to remain in the teaching profession, they need more direction for instructing English language learners and those students with disabilities, and more ideas on how to help children from low-income families succeed.
A study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s FPG Child Development Institute provides a detailed national picture of early childhood teacher preparation programs. Forty-five state reports provide basic information about programs, faculty, and students of early childhood teacher preparation programs. The national report updates the groundbreaking 1999 National Center for Early Development & Learning study, which provided the first nationally representative data on the goals, capacity, supports and challenges of early childhood teacher preparation programs.
The State Teacher Policy Yearbook examines state board of education or profession standards board approved regulations, and laws passed by state legislatures, that influence the teaching profession. The report provides an unprecedented analysis of each state's full range of teacher policies, measures policies against a realistic blueprint for reform, and identifies key areas of states' teacher policies in urgent need of policy attention.
reports the results of a survey examining public views on college quality, affordability and access. Findings include: A record number of Americans (87%) now say a college education is necessary for success in the workplace.The vast majority of Americans say costs should not prevent qualified students from attending college.More than half of Americans say college prices are rising faster than other expenses.Sixty-two percent of Americans say many qualified students do not have the opportunity for a college education.Minority parents are significantly more concerned about college access.
Some recipients of the Newswire receive it directly; others receive it from a faculty member, teacher or associate who forwards it to them monthly. If you do not get the Newswire sent directly to your email address and would like to, please contact us at ncte@domail.maricopa.edu and we will add you to our distribution list.
Campus Spotlight Guidelines Showcase your K-12 teacher education or early childhood program activities and accomplishments in the Newswire by submitting the following to ncte@domail.maricopa.edu by the 10th of the month for the following month’s issue.
100-150 word ARTICLE about your program, activity, practice, policy, partnership, resource, etc.; include contact information and a web address if applicable
UPCOMING EVENT title, date, time, place, target audience, cost, sponsoring campus/program(s), partners, etc.
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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.
