Meeting of the Board of Regents | June 2010

THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234

 

To:                                             Higher Education Committee

 

From:                                        Joseph P. Frey

 

Subject:                                    Policy Update on Graduate Level Clinically Rich Teacher Preparation Pilot Programs

 

Date:                                         June 8, 2010

 

Authorizations:                        

 

SUMMARY

 

Issue for Discussion

Should the Board of Regents approve the policy direction of a proposed draft RFP for Graduate Level Clinically Rich Teacher Preparation Pilot Programs?

 

Reason(s) for Consideration

 

Continuation of the development process for an RFP endorsed by the Board at its February 2010 meeting. 

             

Proposed Handling

The proposed amendment is submitted to the Higher Education Committee for discussion at its June 2010 meeting.

Procedural History

              At the November 2009 and December 2009 meetings, the Board of Regents approved the conceptual framework for graduate level clinically rich teacher preparation pilot programs. At the February 2010 meeting, the Board of Regents endorsed the plan to implement this pilot program through a Request for Proposal (RFP) process.  At the April 2010, the Board of Regents adopted emergency regulations for the establishment of graduate level clinically rich teacher preparation pilot programs.   

Background Information

An estimated 50 percent of new teachers in high need schools leave within the first five years. Research shows that preparation that is grounded in strong clinical approach increases teacher retention. To address the teacher shortage issue, with the approval of the Board of Regents, the Department will select program institutions for the graduate level clinically rich pilot program through an RFP process. Guidelines for the RFP process require institutions to meet the requirements in the Commissioner’s Regulations as set forth in the April 2010 Board of Regents meeting.

The preparation of teachers can impact teacher retention and effectiveness.  Teachers prepared through a year long internship with effective mentoring which allows for on the job training increases the novice teachers’ ability to be effective and have a positive impact on student achievement. Extensive student teacher experiences and increased coursework in teacher preparation programs directly lowers the attrition rate of novice teachers.  Teacher residency preparation programs require residents to spend extensive time in the field throughout their program enabling residents to analyze and apply the concepts, skills, and strategies they learn simultaneously with their interwoven coursework.

The purposes of Teacher Residency programs are:

 

• to improve student achievement;
• improve the quality of new prospective teachers by improving the preparation of prospective teachers and enhancing professional development activities for teachers;
• hold teacher preparation programs at institutions accountable for preparing highly qualified teachers; and
• recruit a high caliber of qualified individuals including diversified individuals. 

 

To help ensure the quality of programs from non-collegiate institutions participating in the pilot, the RFP will require that non-collegiate programs seek accreditation from NCATE or TEAC, as required of all collegiate teacher preparation programs.

Critical to the success of a resident program is the collaboration between the institution and the high need school. The institution and the high need school collaborate to design a program to train residents to meet the needs of the school.  Residents are paired with a trained teacher mentor of the high need school for the duration of the clinical experience.

For the purpose of this document and the regulations, the term institution is defined as those that are approved to provide teacher preparation pursuant to the emergency regulations adopted by the Board of Regents, in April 2010, for the establishment of the graduate level clinically rich teacher preparation pilot programs. 

Requirements for the Pilot Programs included in the Commissioner’s Regulations.

              When the Regents approved emergency regulations to authorize these clinically rich pilot programs, there were three key elements to these regulations:

 

• The traditional college courses were not required. Applicants could use a variety of methods to deliver the program content to the program participants
• The pedagogical core requirement of all teacher education programs was included (e.g., classroom management, child development, student assessment, etc.). However, how these competencies were taught was not prescribed.
• The regulations also included some requirements specific to the residency program (e.g., four year teaching commitment, cohort approach, strong P-16 partnership, etc.).

 

Listed below is a summary of all the regulatory requirements.

 

• general requirements set forth under sections 52.1 and 52.2 of the Commissioner’s Regulations;
• requirements for registration of curricula in teacher education set forth under section 52.21(b)(1), (b)(2)(i), (b)(2)(ii)(b), (b)(2)(ii)(c)(1) and (b)(2)(iv);
• faculty members who teach within the curriculum in this pilot shall possess earned doctorates or other terminal degrees in the field in which they are teaching or shall have demonstrated, in other widely recognized ways, their special competence in the field in which they graduate students;
• institutions will provide historical evidence of commitment to teaching and learning for all students;
• candidates will be supervised by a trained teacher/mentor, administrators and in collaboration with institutions faculty;
• prior programs of institutions have had a positive impact on student achievement and student growth for all students including students with disabilities, English language learners, and students living in poverty;
• programs are  based upon research and best practices to impact student learning;
• curriculum offered to meet the requirements for an initial certificate in a certificate title in the classroom teaching service;
• residents are placed in cohorts in order to facilitate professional collaboration among residents;
• residents commit to four years of teaching in a high need school upon completion of the program to be employed if such openings are available;
• continued ongoing professional learning is required for the first year of the graduate resident’s teaching;      
• programs have evidence of engaging parents, community members, and appropriate resources;
• institutions have been able to build and sustain partnerships with schools, communities and other entities to further student learning and that the pilot programs will be fiscally sustained over time, with continued qualified personnel;
• institutions are required to register their academic programs with the New York State Education Department’s Office of College and University Evaluation;
• executed MOUs, those “in development” or Letters of Intent establishing roles and responsibilities between the Institution and the LEA  must accompany the proposal.

 

              Additional major policy programmatic factors recommended for inclusion in the RFP.

In addition to the regulations, the Department is recommending that the following requirements also be included in the RFP.

 

• recruitment would target candidates with GPAs of 3.0 or over, or strong performances in other graduate programs, depth of knowledge exhibited in previously completed content majors;
• institutions may include as part of admission requirements, acceptable  scores on the GRE or Miller Analogies exams;
• curriculum of the pilot programs shall include research based skills and best practices aligned with the newly developed teacher standards;
• model B candidates are required to complete an introductory component;
• residents will be placed in high need schools for at least one continuous school year for the clinically rich experience with effective teacher/mentors through a collaboration between institutions and LEAs;
• teacher/mentors chosen and trained based on their effectiveness as an educator in a high need school;
• resident supervision by faculty will be at least twice each month during the clinical experience with the exception:

 

• candidates in a Model B Graduate Level Clinically Rich Teacher Preparation program will receive weekly program faculty supervision; and
• daily mentoring by the  assigned trained teacher mentor for a minimum of eight weeks of teaching and continued mentoring by the assigned trained teacher mentor during the remainder of the time the candidate is enrolled in the program.

 

Residents, with no prior certification, will receive at least one continuous year of a mentored clinical experience (those with prior classroom certification may be credited with up to one semester of the clinical experience), grounded in the teaching standards currently being developed, and centered on practicing research based teaching skills that make a difference in the classroom. Pedagogical study linking theory and practice will be embedded in the clinical experience.

Recommendation

It is recommended that the Board of Regents approve the policy direction of developing a draft RFP and provide input in order for Department staff to further develop the document for release.

Proposed Timetable for Implementation

RFP issued	Fall 2010
RFP issued for Research Design	Fall 2010
Blue Ribbon Commission recommends institutions	Spring 2011
Regents select Institutions	April or May 2011
Programs begin	Fall 2011