The Council of Chief State
School Officers (CCSSO) announced today that Idaho is one of seven states
selected to participate in a two-year pilot that will focus on transforming
educator preparation and entry systems to the profession.
CCSSO created the Network for
Transforming Educator Preparation (NTEP) to support states ready to take action
in making sure all educators are ready on the first day of their career to
prepare every student for college, work and life.
NTEP will focus on three key
policy areas, including teacher preparation programs, or what an individual
learns at a College of Education or through an alternate route before being
certified as a teacher.
NTEP grew out of CCSSO’s Our
Responsibility, Our Promise: Transforming Educator Preparation and Entry into
the Profession report, which was
published last year. While serving as President of CCSSO, Superintendent
of Public Instruction Tom Luna chaired the state-led task force that prepared
the report.
“The goal of the Network for
Transforming Educator Preparation is all about improving the craft of teaching.
For those who choose teaching as their life’s work and passion, it is incumbent
on us to provide the support and opportunities they need to be prepared as soon
as they enter the classroom. This all begins with our teacher preparation
programs,” Superintendent Luna said.
Earlier this year, Idaho’s
Task Force for Improving Education unanimously endorsed Idaho’s efforts to
implement the recommendations from Our
Responsibility, Our Promise. NTEP is the first step in that direction.
The states participating in
NTEP will include: Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana,
Massachusetts, and Washington. States will be joined by seventeen national
organizations committed to supporting the states’ efforts to accelerate change
in educator preparation and entry into the profession by helping to communicate
with their members and serve as thought partners.
“States across the nation
have raised expectations for all students and that means that we have a
responsibility to ensure that educators are prepared to help all students
graduate ready for careers, college and lifelong learning,” said Chris Minnich, CCSSO Executive Director.
“These seven states are among those on the leading edge of making
substantive changes in the policy and practice of educator preparation. Over
the next two years they’ll work with educators, preparation programs,
institutions of higher education, non-profit and for-profit education
providers, districts and schools to improve the way we prepare our educator
workforce. These states are taking a comprehensive approach to creating a
system where educators are ready when they enter the classroom. By
focusing on certification, preparation, program approval, and information on
how graduates are doing in the classroom, these states will improve teacher readiness
and thereby help students perform at higher levels.”
CCSSO released Our Responsibility, Our Promise –Transforming Educator
Preparation and Entry into the Profession in December 2012. The report
was developed collaboratively by state education chiefs and
representatives of the National Governor’s Association and the National
Association of State Boards of Education to identify key areas they can change
to ensure every teacher and principal is ready on day one to help all students
meet raised expectations. The report contains ten recommendations that focus on three state
policy levers – licensure, program approval, and data collection, analysis and
reporting – to improve the way we prepare our educator workforce.
The states participating in
the pilot will use these recommendations as the foundation for their actions
and more specifically will do the following:
- Licensure: States will strengthen and change educator licensure standards and requirements to ensure teacher and principal candidates recommended for licensure demonstrate the knowledge and skills necessary to meet the high expectations for all students, and help teachers and principals continuously improve their practice throughout their careers.
- Program Approval: States will raise the bar on the approval process for all educator preparation providers to ensure they deliver high-quality, rigorous training to potential educators, as demonstrated by performance assessments that show that candidates can apply what they’ve learned in actual school settings and with the range of learners they will likely encounter.
- Analyzing and Reporting Information to Improve Preparation Programs: States will formalize and refine the process for collecting, analyzing, and reporting educator pre-service and in-service performance data to ensure this information is used as tools to improve the way we prepare our educator workforce.
The
network will leverage promising practices that other states have used to begin
to change policy effecting how teachers and principals are prepared and
licensed to practice as well as the variety of new pre-service performance
assessments being developed.
Idaho’s
work through NTEP is aligned with the Idaho State Department of Education’s
work to implement the recommendations from the Task Force for Improving
Education, which includes recommendations specific to tiered licensure,
enhanced pre-service opportunities, and mentoring.
Learn
more about the Task Force for Improving Education recommendations on the Idaho
State Board of Education’s website.
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