In This Issue
ARIZONA’S FIRST-EVER TEACHER ACCOUNTABILITY PROCEDURE
GUIDELINES FOR HELPING YOUNG CHILDREN AFTER A DISASTER
THE DEMAND FOR DUAL TRACK SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS
URGE FOR COMPREHENSIVE INDUCTION PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS
FULL DAY KINDERGARTEN ON THE RISE
STATUS AND TRENDS IN THE EDUCATION OF AMERICAN INDIANS AND ALASKA NATIVES
THE GREAT AIMS DEBATE
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NACCTEP
Fourth Annual Conference
March 17-19, 2006
Atlanta,Georgia
Please Join Us at a new conference location for Jazzing Up Teacher Education Programs in the Community College an extraordinary conference sponsored by the National Association of Community College Teacher Education Programs, March 17-19, 2006, at the beautiful Hilton Atlanta in Atlanta, Georgia.Experience Southern Hospitality in an elegant setting located in downtown Atlanta. Discover the potential for community colleges to energize programs that provide leadership and support equity, diversity, and excellence for future generations of educators. Come explore programs built on tradition that integrate modern practices and methods.
Like each of you, we too are greatly saddened by the tremendous loss and hardship resulting from Hurricane Katrina. It is with heartache that we watch the news and see the devastation of the Gulf Coast. Due to this tragedy, we are still uncertain about details for the 2006 NACCTEP National Conference. We will provide you with updated information about the situation in New Orleans and plans for the conference as it becomes available.
We encourage you to support the Community College Hurricane Relief Fund, coordinated by the American Association of Community Colleges.
Hurricane Relief Fund
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New LINKS |
| Time for Kids
Preschool Education
Governor Napolitano’s Committee for Teacher Quality and Support
NASA Space Science Education Resource Directory
Teacher Vision
Community College Fact Sheet
Arizona Educational Employment Board
Education Review
Funding Factory
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| Archives |
August 2005
May 2005
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More Information
For additional information about CCTI or the Maricopa local project, contact Cheri St. Arnauld at 480-731-8726. |
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ARIZONA’S FIRST-EVER TEACHER ACCOUNTABILITY PROCEDURE
Beginning in 2006, Arizona teachers will be required to pass a performance assessment test in order to acquire a continuing teacher certificate after the first three years of teaching. The Arizona Teacher Performance Assessment (ATPA) will require teachers to submit a videotape of their teaching along with written commentary and evidence, to be rated by a national teaching panel.
The Arizona Teacher Performance Assessment is designed to ensure that all Arizona teachers demonstrate competence in Arizona’s teaching standards in order to receive a continuing certificate after the first three years of teaching. “For the first time ever, Arizona is going to make sure that teachers as well as administrators are held accountable to ensure that teachers are capably instructing students in accordance with the standards set by the state,” says Tom Horne, Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction. The Arizona Department of Education is working in partnership with Teacher Preparation Programs in Arizona to ensure that teachers graduating from these programs are prepared to successfully complete this assessment.
GUIDELINES FOR HELPING YOUNG CHILDREN AFTER A DISASTER
Watching media coverage of the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina affects us all. However, it is important to remember that young children may be especially affected by disasters. Families and others who care for young children need to provide comfort, reassurance, and stability. Young children are most fearful when they do not understand what is happening around them. Their strong feelings and reactions are natural and should be expected. This article offers strategies to help families and other adults give children emotional support and show them that they are safe.
THE DEMAND FOR DUAL TRACK SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS
According to the National Education Association, the number of U.S. students with disabilities has jumped 30 percent in the past decade. With a national shortage of special education teachers, those with a dual certification (in major subjects such as math, English, science or social studies) are in high demand. The No Child Left Behind Act gives middle and high schools until June of 2006 to ensure that teachers become “highly qualified” in each major subject area they teach. The difference between regular and special education teachers is that it is common for special-education teachers to cover multiple subjects throughout the day while colleagues in traditional classrooms tend to specialize in just one. For this reason, dually certified special education teachers are prized finds and are being offered such incentives as signing bonuses as part of the recruitment process.
URGE FOR COMPREHENSIVE INDUCTION PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS
The National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future is calling on states, districts, and higher education institutions to offer formal teacher-induction programs that last for years and offer more than just individual mentoring. According to the commission, induction should include mentoring of individual teachers as part of a comprehensive package of services. Good induction programs should also include elements such as opportunities to observe and be observed by other teachers, common planning time to work with colleagues and share lessons, participation in an external network of teachers, and giving teachers enough time to focus on their induction. Top priorities of the commission are to train teachers to become more effective and engaged in their jobs, and keep them in the classroom.
FULL DAY KINDERGARTEN ON THE RISE
Almost two thirds of kindergarteners nationwide attend school five to six hours a day. That percentage of full-day students has doubled since the early 1980s. Even a decade ago, most kindergarteners went to school half-day.
The academic demands of kindergarten have increased as well. Kindergarten is increasingly seen not as a soft step into first grade, but rather as a time of substantive learning. Full-day classes devote more time to math, social studies and science and to specific skills, such as writing the alphabet. They also tend to allow more time for recess and similar opportunities for kids to be kids.
An Education Department analysis finds that children in full-day classes make greater gains in reading and math than half-day students, even after adjusting for such factors as poverty status and class size.
STATUS AND TRENDS IN THE EDUCATION OF AMERICAN INDIANS AND ALASKA NATIVES
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) issued a new federal report on the circumstances of American Indians and Alaska Natives in school and beyond. The report shows gains in key educational areas, such as educational attainment, over the last two decades, but a continuing gap in educational performance between American Indian/ Alaska Native students and their counterparts. Highlights include findings that show an increase in enrollment of American Indian/Alaska Natives in degree granting institutions and more American Indian/Alaska Native students earning postsecondary degrees. On the other hand, American Indian/Alaska Natives scored lower, on average, than Whites on the SAT and ACT in 2004 and the National Assessment of Educational Progress reading and math assessments in 2003.
THE GREAT AIMS DEBATE
See this site for the Arizona Republic’s online archive of AIMS Test articles. This page contains present and past articles about the AIMS test with a variety of emphases, opinions and purposes.
Is the AIMS Test an educational tool or a roadblock? You decide. |
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The ethnic disparity between K-12 teachers and students in Arizona did not change between school years 2002-2003 and 2003-2004.
Graph |
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Friday
October 14, 2005
Aligning for Quality:
Effective Teaching & P20
Attend the fifth annual Fall Forum and join citizens, policy makers, business partners, educational representatives and stakeholder
organizations to share ideas and explore solutions and strategies for quality teaching and strengthening the P-20 continuum in Arizona.
Register Here |
Campus Spotlight
As a teacher education faculty member you have invaluable experience teaching students how to become educators. We invite you to share your teaching tips and ideas with us or spotlight a project on your campus that we can feature in our Educator’s Corner.
Please contact ncte@domail.maricopa.edu for more information.
Feedback
The NEWSWIRE is dedicated to becoming a value-added resource for Maricopa Community College teacher education faculty. Your feedback regarding this publication is desired to aid NCTE staff in the production of a newsletter that is valuable and useful to your education experiences.
Please contact ncte@domail.maricopa.edu with your comments and suggestions. |
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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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