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

 

TO:	The Honorable the Members of the Board of Regents
FROM:	Johanna Duncan-Poitier
COMMITTEE:	Higher Education and Professional Practice
TITLE OF ITEM:	Update on Alternative Teacher Preparation Programs
DATE OF SUBMISSION:	January 14, 2005
PROPOSED HANDLING:	Discussion
RATIONALE FOR ITEM:	To provide regular updates on elements of the Regents teaching policy
STRATEGIC GOAL:	Goals 2 and 3
AUTHORIZATION(S):

 

SUMMARY:

 

Each year since the Board of Regents approved the offering of Alternative Teacher Preparation (ATP) programs by New York State colleges and universities, the Office of Higher Education has provided a report on the activities and status of those programs.  In response to the request for information by the Board of Regents, the attached report for academic year 2003-2004 reflects specific data about the programs, beginning with the Teaching Fellows Program. 

 

          During the report year, ATP programs were offered by 12 colleges and universities in New York City through the Teaching Fellows Program and by 6 upstate colleges.  The focus of the programs is the preparation of additional teachers in the high need fields of mathematics, the sciences, and special education.  In 2003-2004, 47 percent of ATP candidates in New York City and 96 percent of upstate candidates were prepared in these 3 fields.  Over 2,800 ATP candidates began teaching in 2003-2004 in New York State.

 

          In 2004-2005, the New York City Department of Education (NYC DOE) instituted a city-wide mentoring program for all new teachers, including Teaching Fellows.  During the first year, between 5,500 and 6,000 new teachers will receive mentoring.  There were over 300 prepared mentors in place for Teaching Fellows on the first day of school.

 

          Staff in the Office of College and University Evaluation (OCUE) have continued to monitor ATP programs through dedicated on-site visits or as a component of teacher education program accreditation visits.  In addition, during the summer of 2003, staff conducted one-day visits to the introductory components of all 12 New York City Teaching Fellows Program colleges.

 

 

          As a result of our monitoring, and in accordance with the policy to monitor the Regents Teaching Policy, staff will be convening a task force to review §52.21(b)(3)(xvii) of the Commissioner’s Regulations to discuss possible amendments to the requirements of the introductory component of transitional B programs.  Additionally, the task force will address the appropriateness of current alternative teacher certification regulations for the preparation of teachers in special education and the need to recommend amendments for special program areas such as special education.   The task force will be comprised of staff and representatives from the field.

 

Attachment

Alternative Teacher Preparation in New York State

2003-2004 Annual Report

 

Alternative Teacher Preparation (ATP) is a relatively small but important source of teachers for hard-to-staff schools and subject areas in New York State.  By design, ATP programs are partnerships among institutions of higher education (IHEs), local school districts, teachers’ unions, and teacher candidates.  Candidates in these programs must meet all the requirements for initial teaching certificates by the end of their programs.

 

This report describes New York State ATP programs as of June 2004.  Part 1 looks at trends from school year 2000-2001, when ATP programs began in New York State, through the end of school year 2003-2004.  Part 2 describes program support and outreach efforts during 2003-2004.  Part 3 provides detailed information about new Fellows entering the New York City Teaching Fellows program in fall 2003. 

 

PART 1

General Program Update

 

Scope.  From July 2000 to June 2004, the number of colleges and universities offering ATP programs grew from 3 to 18.  The number of ATP candidates beginning teaching increased from 314 in 2000-2001 to over 2,800 in 2003-2004 (See Table 1.1). Over 92 percent of the new candidates were in the New York City Teaching Fellows program.  Appendix 1 includes the names of IHEs offering these programs in 2003-2004.

 

Table 1.1 ATP Program Growth Fall 2000 through January 2004 Based on the Number of Candidates Starting to Teach
Academic Year	Cohort	Colleges and Universities Participating Each Year			New ATP Candidates
		NYC	Upstate	Total	NYC	Upstate	Total
00-01 00-01	2000  Fall 2001 January	3   2	0 0	3   2	314     71	0   0	385
01-02 01-02	2001 Fall 2002 January	13   1	2 0	15   1	1,094     36	62    0	1,192
02-03	2002 Fall	15	3	18	1,829	82	1,911
03-04 03-04 03-04	2003 Fall 2003 Rolling 2004 January	12   1   2	6 0 0	18   1   2	2,442      83      86	79 143     0	2,833
Total new candidates at 12 NYC and 6 upstate colleges/universities					5,955	366	6,321
SOURCES:  NYC DOE (updated data) and upstate colleges, fall 2004. NOTE:  Colleges with Rolling and January cohorts also had fall cohorts.

 

Focus.  When ATP programs were first authorized by the Board of Regents, colleges and universities registered a broad range of programs in this format.  Since then, institutions have narrowed the focus to the high-need subject areas.  In New York City in 2003-2004, 47 percent of Teaching Fellows started teaching in the high-need areas of math, the sciences, and special education.  Upstate, 96 percent of ATP candidates were in math, the sciences, and special education programs.  This change in focus represents the responsiveness of these programs in meeting local needs.

 

Impact.  Since their inception in 2000-2001, ATP programs have prepared over 6,000 individuals to begin teaching careers.  The New York City Department of Education (NYC DOE) reports that there are 6,000 teachers employed in the City who entered the profession through various cohorts of the Teaching Fellows Program (including the 2004-05 cohort).

 

Principals throughout the State continue to provide anecdotal reports of their high levels of satisfaction with teachers prepared through ATP programs.  In addition, at the end of each academic year the NYC DOE conducts a survey of principals who employ Teaching Fellows.  The 2003-2004 survey continued to show satisfaction with ATP candidates in affecting gains in student achievement and understanding the subject matter they were teaching.   A research team, with Principal Investigator Professor James Wyckoff, is conducting a longitudinal study of the effectiveness of New York City teachers prepared through a variety of routes.  Reports from the research will be released soon to provide more information about the influence of Teaching Fellows on student achievement; the full report should be released in early 2007.

 

Oversight.  OCUE staff continue to monitor ATP programs through site visits and e-mail contact.  When a college or university that has ATP programs is scheduled for a teacher accreditation site visit, a review of ATP programs becomes a focused part of the visit.  In cases where an accreditation visit is not scheduled during the academic year, staff make dedicated site visits to ATP programs.   During 2003-2004, five dedicated site visits were made, with one resulting in an unsatisfactory report.  The institution receiving the unsatisfactory report was required to provide additional information and to make changes in its ATP program prior to accepting a new 2004 cohort.  Frequent e-mail and phone contact is continuing with the program director, and a follow-up visit will be made to this college during early 2005.  Accreditation site visits resulted in two satisfactory program reviews.  In addition, during the summer of 2003, staff conducted one-day visits to the introductory components of all 12 college and university partners in the New York City Teaching Fellows Program.  These visits resulted in satisfactory reports.

 

Teacher retention.  To effectively address teacher shortages, ATP programs must prepare teachers who can effect change in their students and who stay in teaching.  The NYC DOE considers a Fellow to be “retained” when the Fellow remains in or completes the Teaching Fellows program and is teaching for the NYC DOE.  The first-year retention rate for the 2003-2004 cohort of Teaching Fellows was 93 percent.  The retention rates over longer periods of time in Table 1.2 are in the same range as other rates reported for New York City and the nation (Lankford, Wyckoff and Papa, 2000; NCES, 2004).  All partners in New York City and upstate ATP programs continue to examine recruitment, selection, placement, graduate programs, and school-based support in order to understand the causes of attrition and to improve retention rates. 

 

 

 

PART 2

Program Support and Outreach

 

Continuation of federal grants.  Based on annual progress reports submitted to the U.S. Department of Education, the Teacher Quality Enhancement ($464,815) and the Transition to Teaching ($400,000) grants were continued for 2003-2004.  These grants enable us to award funds on a competitive basis to independent institutions working as partners in the New York City Teaching Fellows Program.  We also received $153,592 in supplemental Higher Education Act funds.  These funds are being used to support two projects:

 

·        Through the SUNY Research Foundation, Professor James Wyckoff is conducting an evaluation of 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 Teaching Fellows working in grades three through five. The study will analyze student achievement, cohort retention, college supervision, college coursework, and school-based mentoring, thus contributing greatly to our knowledge of the effects of the Teaching Fellows Program.  Results of this study are expected in the fall of 2006.

 

·        Pace University conducted a pilot of the “Rolling Fellows” approach that prepares additional Teaching Fellows to begin teaching during an academic year. These new teachers are used to provide permanent replacements for teachers who leave during the academic year. The pilot program included candidates in mathematics, bilingual elementary education, the sciences, and English.  Most of the candidates were placed in teaching positions by the end of the fall 2003 semester.  Eighty-three candidates began the program and 75 are still teaching, for a retention rate of 90 percent.

 

Project Leadership Team (PLT).  As part of our federal grant projects, we have established a Project Leadership Team (PLT) comprised of representatives from institutions receiving project funds, the NYC DOE, and SED.  In the four meetings held during 2003-2004, the PLT discussed issues and strategies for improving ATP programs, developed an evaluation plan for the two grant programs, and shared best practices, including the assessment of teacher candidates.  On March 5, 2004, the PLT sponsored a statewide meeting of ATP programs that was attended by 60 representatives of IHEs and other interested organizations.  The meeting included presentations on selection and placement of candidates, forming partnerships with PreK-12 schools, and candidate support, as well as roundtable discussions on topics affecting ATP programs.

 

Outreach.  As an outreach effort, a brochure was prepared in Spanish and English for use at the 17^th Annual Somos El Futuro Conference in April.  The brochure introduced prospective candidates to ATP programs and included contact information for colleges offering ATP programs.

 

Innovative new ATP program.  In December 2003, SUNY Empire State College received approval for their ATP programs to be offered at seven locations throughout New York State beginning in fall 2004.  The College applied for and received an Elementary and Secondary Education Act Transition to Teaching grant totaling $2.4 million to implement their innovative program using technology to support the program and its candidates.

 

Mentoring update.  The NYC DOE has budgeted $36 million for 2004-2005 to implement a city-wide mentoring program for all first-year teachers.  Approximately 300 mentors have been trained by the New Teacher Center from the University of California, Santa Cruz.  Representatives from the New Teacher Center will work with New York City’s recently hired Director of New Teacher Induction and Regional Directors of New Teacher Induction to implement the mentoring plan.  Between 5,500 and 6,000 new teachers, including Teaching Fellows, will be mentored this year.  IHE representatives report that most Teaching Fellows began the 2004-2005 academic year with mentors assigned and in place. 

 

Continuing dialogue.  Discussions are continuing with the NYC DOE and other partners on how to prepare and use the “second written agreement” that details continued mentoring and ways to meet individual learning needs of ATP candidates following the initial eight weeks of mentored teaching.  Part of this discussion centers on the roles of each of the participants in the joint meetings that are to take place every three months during the first year of mentored teaching as required by Part 52.21(b)(3)(xvii) of the Commissioner’s Regulations.  At this time, partners appear to be seriously working together to fully comply with regulations.

 

PART 3

Fall 2003 New York City Teaching Fellows

 

NYC DOE provided the Department with more detailed data on New York City Teaching Fellows (Fellows) who started teaching in fall 2003 than on any previous cohort of Fellows as part of evaluation efforts related to the two federal grants.  The tables in this report are descriptive, but do not imply cause and effect.

 

Schools with fall 2003 Fellows.  A total of 2,442 Fellows started teaching in fall 2003, of which 2,430 were assigned to 719 schools and 12 to assignments that were not school-specific.  More than half of the Fellows were in schools in the Bronx and Brooklyn, but Fellows were assigned to every borough (See Table 2.1).

 

 

Table 2.1 Distribution of Fall 2003 Fellows and Their Schools by Borough
Borough	Number of Fall 2003 Fellows	Number of Schools with Fall 2003 Fellows	Fall 2003 Fellows per School
			Average	Maximum
Bronx	936	215	4.35	20
Brooklyn	698	237	2.95	11
Manhattan	417	123	3.39	26
Queens	365	136	2.68	12
Staten Island	14	8	1.75	4
Not school-specific	12	--	--	--
All Boroughs	2,442	719	2.77	26
SOURCE:  NYC DOE September 2004. NOTE:  “Not school-specific” assignments included assignments in non-public schools and the Teacher Reserve Pool.

 

Fellows per school.  One in three of the schools with fall 2003 Fellows had only one new Fellow.   Two in three of the schools had less than four fall 2003 Fellows (See Table 2.2).

 

Table 2.2 Distribution of Schools and Fellows by Number of Fellows per School
Number of Fall 2003 Fellows per School	Schools		Fall 2003 Fellows
	Number	Percent	Number	Percent
1	249	35	249	10
2	140	19	280	12
3	96	13	288	12
4	58	8	232	10
5	42	6	205	8
6	30	4	186	8
7	32	4	224	9
8	22	3	176	7
9	14	2	126	5
10+	36	5	464	19
Totals	719	100*	2,430	100
SOURCE:  NYC DOE September 2004. NOTE: This table does not include 12 Fellows with assignments that were not school-specific.

 

Performance categories of schools with fall 2003 Fellows.  Sixty percent of fall 2003 Fellows were assigned to schools that were not identified as low-performing schools, 37 percent were assigned to Schools in Need of Improvement (SINI), as defined by federal law, and 5 percent were assigned to Schools Under Registration Review (SURR).  There were 19 schools that were both SURR and SINI schools. These 19 schools had 77 fall 2003 Fellows.  SURR schools with fall 2003 Fellows were 4.6 percent of all schools with fall 2003 Fellows and were in all boroughs except Staten Island.  SINI schools were 31.4 percent of all schools with fall 2003 Fellows and were in all boroughs  (See Tables 2.3 and 2.4).

 

 

 

Age of fall 2003 Fellows.  Thirty-seven percent of fall 2003 Fellows were age 25 or less, 40 percent were age 26 to 35 years, 11 percent were age 36-45 years, 10 percent were over age 45, and for 2 percent no age information was available.  More than 3 in 4 fall 2003 Fellows were under age 36 (See Table 2.5).

 

 

Table 2.5 Distribution of Fall 2003 Fellows by Age Range
Age Range	Number of Fellows	Percent of Fellows
25 years or less	905	37
26 to 35 years	966	40
36 to 45 years	275	11
46 years or more	256	10
Age not available	40	2
Totals	2,442	100
SOURCE:  NYC DOE September 2004.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Certification areas.  Fall 2003 Fellows were enrolled in graduate level teacher education programs in 18 certification areas.  The 5 areas with the most fall 2003 Fellows were Elementary Education with 725 Fellows, Special Education with 609, Math and Math Immersion combined with 399, English with 248 and Social Studies with 146 (See Table 2.6).

 

 

Table 2.6 Distribution of Fall 2003 Fellows by Certification Area
Certification Area	Number of Fellows	Percent of Fellows
Elementary Education	725	30
Special Education	609	25
Math (Immersion)	339	14
English	248	10
Social Studies	146	6
ESL	67	3
Elementary Education (bilingual)	61	2
Math	60	2
Biology/General Science	53	2
Special Education (bilingual)	30	1
Spanish	28	1
General Science	20	1
Earth Science/General Science	17	1
Chemistry/General Science	14	1
Music	11	0.45
Physics/General Science	6	0.25
Social Studies (bilingual)	6	0.25
Art	1	0.04
Physical Education	1	0.04
Totals	2,442	100
SOURCE:  NYC DOE September 2004.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Graduate institutions.  Fall 2003 Teaching Fellows were in graduate programs at 12 colleges and universities.   Seven of the institutions each enrolled over 100 Fellows, 4 institutions each enrolled between 65 and 100 Fellows, and 1 institution enrolled 30 Fellows  (See Table 2.7).

 

 

Table 2.7 Distribution of Fall 2003 Fellows by Graduate Institution
Graduate Institution	Number of Fellows	Percent of Fellows
Mercy College	597	24
Brooklyn College	395	16
City College	367	15
Lehman College	205	8
Pace University	198	8
Queens College	194	8
St. John’s University	137	6
Fordham University	98	4
Hunter College	83	3
College of Staten Island	73	3
Long Island University	65	3
Adelphi University	30	1
Totals	2,442	100
Source: NYC DOE September 2004

 

First-year teacher retention.  The first-year retention rate varied slightly by borough, by number of new Fellows in a school, and by certification area.  There was no variation by school performance category (See Tables 2.8-2.11).  These variations are correlations, but imply no causation. 

 

 

Table 2.8 First Year Retention Rates for Fall 2003 Fellows by Borough
Borough	Number of Fellows at Start of School	First Year Retention Rate (Percent)
Brooklyn	698	92
Queens	365	94
Bronx	936	92
Manhattan	417	92
Staten Island	14	86
Not school-specific	12	31
SOURCE:  NYC DOE September 2004. NOTE:  Fellows are “retained” only if they remain in or complete the NYC DOE Teaching Fellows program and are teaching for the NYC DOE.

 

 

Table 2.9 First Year Retention Rates for Fall 2003 Fellows by Number of New Fellows per School
SCHOOL SETTING Number of Fall 2003 Fellows Per school	Number of Fellows at Start of School in Each School Setting	First Year Retention Rate (Percent)
1	249	94
2	280	95
3	288	93
4	232	94
5	205	93
6	186	88
7	224	92
8	176	91
9	126	94
10 or more	464	93
SOURCE:  NYC DOE September 2004. NOTES:  Fellows are “retained” only if they remain in or complete the NYC DOE Teaching Fellows program and are teaching for the NYC DOE.  Schools with fall 2003 Fellows may also have Fellows from earlier cohorts.

 

 

 

 

Table 2.10 First Year Retention Rates for Fall 2003 Fellows by School Performance Category
School performance category	Number of Fellows at start of school	First year retention rate (Percent)
SINI school	915	93
SURR school	134	92
Not SURR/SINI school	1,472	92
SOURCE:  NYC DOE September 2004. NOTE:  Fellows are “retained” only if they remain in or complete the NYC DOE Teaching Fellows program and are teaching for the NYC DOE.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table 2.11 First Year Retention Rates for Fall 2003 Fellows by Certification Area
Certification Area	Number of Fellows at Start of School	First Year Retention Rate (Percent)
Elementary Education Special Education Math (Immersion) English Social Studies	725 609 339 248 146	92 94 92 91 92
ESL Elementary Education (bilingual) Math Biology/General Science Special Education (bilingual)	67 61 60 53 30	93 98 92 92 100
Spanish General Science Earth Science/General Science Chemistry/General Science Music	28 20 17 14 11	82 85 88 93 82
Physics/General Science Social Studies (bilingual) Art Physical Education	6 6 1 1	83 83 100 100
SOURCE:  NYC DOE September 2004. NOTE:  Fellows are “retained” only if they remain in or complete the NYC DOE Teaching Fellows program and are teaching for the NYC DOE.

 

 

References and Benchmarks

 

National Center for Education Statistics.  Teacher Attrition and Mobility:  Results from the Teacher Follow-up Survey, 2000-01.  E.D. Tabs, NCES-2004-301.  August 2004. 

Table 2, page 9, shows one-year retention rates for U.S. teachers with 1-3 years of teaching experience ranging from 77.4 to 79.7 percent, with retention defined as staying in the same school.  http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/sass/.

 

Lankford, H., Wyckoff, J. and Papa, F.  The Labor Market for Public School Teachers:  A Descriptive Analysis of New York State’s Teacher Workforce.  The University at Albany, October 25, 2000. 

Table 2, page 17, shows a 58.2 percent six-year retention rate for New York City, and 58.9 percent six-year retention rate for New York State for teachers who began teaching in 1991, with retention defined as staying in the same school district.  http://www.albany.edu/edfin/EFRC_pubspage.html.

 

 Appendix 1