www.nacctep.org/briefs

JUNE 2004

VOLUME 1

ISSUE 5

Inside This Issue

Title II of Higher Education Act is Focus of Separate Senate Bills

The Condition of Education 2004

A Matter of Degrees
The Education Trust

Prekindergarten Research in Progress

Technology Toolkit

Guide Provides Advice for Implementing NCLB Programs

Alternative Certification

Quick Links

State by State...

NAACTEP is very interested in your feedback and ideas! Please email us with topics or issues you would like to see discussed in future briefs.

Volume 1, Issue 1

Volume 1, Issue 2

Volume 1, Issue 3

Volume 1, Issue 4

Volume 1, Issue 5

WELCOME

Welcome to the new format of the Policy Brief. The purpose of this brief is to provide a resource for teacher education professionals, administrators and students from which teacher preparation, recruitment, retention and renewal programs and policies can be developed.

On Thursday, April 22, Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) introduced separate bills in the ongoing effort to reauthorize the Higher Education Act (HEA). Both bills focus on Title II, which deals specifically with teacher education.

Senator Reed introduced S. 2335, the Preparing, Recruiting and Retaining Education Professionals (PRREP) Act of 2004. Among other things, this bill aims to increase the strength and effectiveness of the Teacher Quality Enhancement Grants of the HEA by boosting funding to $500 million from the current fiscal year funding of $89 million. The bill also provides for mentoring, field-based experiences, and professional development to improve the capacity of principals and teachers, early childhood education providers, and teacher preparation program faculty.

The PRREP Act includes language authored by AACTE that establishes grants to create Academies for Faculty Excellence to enhance the caliber of teaching undertaken in preparation programs. These grants will provide professional development for faculty who are training the next generation of education faculty to ensure that those faculties are up-to-date with the latest research regarding teaching and learning. This bill would also improve teacher preparation programs by establishing a 3- year residency program for new teachers that would include strong mentoring components and enhanced professional development activities.

Senator Bingaman’s bill, S. 2340, the Capacity to Learn for All Students and Schools (CLASS) Act of 2004, is also designed to strengthen the Teacher Quality Enhancement Grants program. The CLASS Act bill would create a new data system grant program designed to improve public education. State educational agencies receiving grants would develop data systems to integrate and coordinate individual student data from educational and employment settings. Agencies would also conduct analyses necessary for evaluating programs, policies, and best practices and would facilitate alignment among schools, institutions of higher education, and employers.

The CLASS Act implements a rural education recruitment and retention program and creates Centers of Excellence, which would increase minority teacher recruitment, professional development, and retention. Language in both bills would ensure that all prospective teachers, regardless of whether they are graduates from traditional or alternative programs, would be held to the same high accountability standards. In the House of Representatives, Congressman Buck McKeon (R-CA) plans to introduce a bill reauthorizing Title IV of the HEA bill, which focuses on student loans and financial aid.

Currently when the student interest rate runs below market rates, the federal government makes up the difference by paying lenders subsidies to maintain their profit margins. But when students pay more than the market rate, lenders keep any additional profit. McKeon’s bill is expected to require lenders that handle student loans to return any excess profits to the government.

Reprinted with Permission from AACTE; Briefs, [May 10, 2004]

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A new report released by the Education Trust indicates that only six out of ten (63%) first-time full-time degree-seeking college freshmen graduate within six years. While the overall graduation rates are low for all students, they are particularly low for minority and low-income students: only 46% of African American, 47% of Latino, and 54% of low-income first-time full-time freshmen are graduating within six years.

The report includes a new analysis of institutional-level graduation rates that reveals widely different rates among similar institutions serving similar students and argues that when it comes to student success, what colleges and universities do matters greatly. The report, A Matter of Degrees: Improving Graduation Rates in Four-Year Colleges and Universities, includes a new analysis of a comprehensive federal database of six-year graduation rates from every degree-granting higher education institution in the United States. Read more here.

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The Prekindergarten Research in Progress database is now available at http://prekrip.org. The database provides descriptions of ongoing or recently completed studies of state-funded prekindergarten programs, or studies that use state-funded prekindergarten programs as one of several settings for research.

Two examples are (1) The National Survey of Lead Teachers in State-Funded Prekindergarten Programs (also known as the National Prekindergarten Study), and (2) a study of parent involvement in rural Illinois state-funded prekindergarten programs conducted by Dr. Brent McBride at the University of Illinois. Project staff plan to add several records to the database each month.

The National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) (with funds from The Pew Charitable Trusts) and the National Prekindergarten Center (NPC) (with funding from the Foundation for Child Development) provide financial support to the Early Childhood and Parenting (ECAP) Collaborative at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to create the Prekindergarten Research in Progress database.

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The State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) recently unveiled its 2003 SETDA National Leadership Institute Toolkit: States Helping States Implement No Child Left Behind. Developed with input from state and national experts, the kit offers resources and best practices on improving learning for all students through the use of technology. It addresses five content areas:

• building partnerships and leveraging resources;
• technology leadership skills for the 21st century;
• data collection and data-driven decision making;
• building high-quality professional development programs; and
• virtual schools and distance learning.

The toolkit contains the outcomes of five corresponding work groups that met at SETDA's second annual National Leadership Institute held in December 2003. The institute was attended by over 100 education technology leaders from 46 states, along with U.S. Department of Education representatives and other interested parties.

SETDA has also compiled for its Web site a profile report outlining each state's technology plans. For more information, visit www.setda.org.

Source: The Achiever, [June 1, 2004].

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The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Innovation and Improvement is now offering a new guide on public school choice, titled Creating Strong District School Choice Programs. Under No Child Left Behind, if a school does not meet its state-defined academic achievement targets for two consecutive years, that school is defined as "in need of improvement." At that point, parents must have the option of moving their child to a public school in the same district that has met its achievement targets. And the district must provide transportation for these students.

Creating Strong District School Choice Programs shares practical advice and concrete examples from five school districts that have been successful in creating and expanding public school choice initiatives and making them work for students and parents. It also has information on how to avoid some of the pitfalls that school districts may face in addressing the needs of all students, a requirement under NCLB.

Source: Extra Credit, [June 2004].

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As reported in the June 3rd edition of the American Board Circular, due to growth and class-size pressures, many states are facing an increasing demand for new teachers. Florida is currently leading the nation in promoting alternative certification methods for its teachers. Current alternative certification options make teaching a possibility for college graduates with degrees in other disciplines. For more information, click here.

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Throughout 2004, Education Week is providing special coverage the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, the landmark 1954 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down the doctrine of "separate but equal" in public education. "Brown at 50: The Unfulfilled Promise," a five part-series running from January through May, takes stock of the continued role of race in American education, looking at key issues, developments, and localities.

An ongoing series by Education Week looks at the push for data-based decision-making in education, and what it will take to make it a reality. Click here for more.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation has released the 2004 KIDS COUNT Data Book. The book is a state-by-state study profiling the well-being of America's children. The book ranks states on 10 key measures and provides data on the economic conditions of families, child health, and education. Go to the site for more information.

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Governor Jeb Bush in Florida signed legislation that will provide funding for reading coaches to help train teachers in the state's lowest-performing middle schools. The law also requires that, by 2008, all reading programs in the state be research-based. Read more here.

Governor Bill Owens of Colorado has signed legislation (HB 1362) creating a State Charter School Institute that will be responsible for authorizing and overseeing charter schools, relieving some local school districts of those responsibilities. Read more here.

By this fall, all kindergartners in New Mexico will have access to full-day kindergarten funded by the state. Previously, schools had to raise funds themselves.  Read more here.

The American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence recently announced that Florida has become the third state to accept the Passport to TeachingSM as a new route to full certification of the state's public school teachers. Read more here.  

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