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EDUCATION DEPARTMENT NEWS
Eleventh Week of Summer 2003 – July 28 Edition best viewed at http://www.easternct.edu/depts/edu/news/030728.html |
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Words of Inspiration
the collection appears
at http://www.easternct.edu/depts/edu/news/words.html
The Goal of True Education
By Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Intelligence plus character -- that is the goal of true education. The
complete education gives one not only power of concentration, but worthy
objectives upon which to concentrate."
Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1948, as a student at Morehouse College as cited on http://www.mlk.fcps.net/MLK/life_of_martin_luther_king_jr1.htm
Posted July 28, 2003
1) The following message is from Dean Kleine on July 8, 2003:
A message from Jack Hasegawa in
the CT State Department of Education -
"The Governor signed P.A. 03-168: AAC
the Federal No Child Left Behind Act and Teacher Certification yesterday,
June 26, 2003. This includeds the revised statutory language including
Kindergarten for the elementary and special education certification. The
Certfication unit has been told that it is now appropriate to process all
new applications for these two endorsements."
2) New color printer in Ed Dept Office
- networking information -
A message from Judy Kilburn, IT Staff
member:
The new Education Department HP5500dn
color laser printer has been installed in the back of the Education Department
office. Because of the capabilities of this new printer, no network print
queue has been set up for the printer.
All those that would like to print to
this machine will need to print directly to the IP address of the printer.
Each individual will need to have the printer setup under their profile.
(They will need to be logged on.) This is a very quick install, usually
no more than ten minutes.
This means that each person will need
to make an appointment with ITS staff though the Helpdesk. They should
mention in this request that the printer needs to be installed to send
jobs directly to the printer. If you have any questions, please do not
hesitate to contact me or Emmanuel Ogungbe.
3) Thirty high school students
participated in the Summer Institute for Future Teachers, which started
on Sunday, July 6 and ended with a showcase of projects on Friday, July
25. Our colleagues, Ms. Michele Ridolfi, Summer Project Director, Mr. Terrell
Green, 7th year SIFT veteran teacher, and new teachers - Vonetta Romeo
and Joel Farrior, were the section faculty. They were assisted by Dr. Delar
Singh, who has organized the field experiences in the Learning Links program
at Windham Middle School, Dr. Theresa Picard, who will be presenting on
literacy resources, and other regional educators.
Please let us know if you have any questions
about our program.
4) Dean Kleine
shared this important article from the Chronicle of Higher Education, writing
- "You and your colleagues
will find this interesting. Pay particular attention to the "upon 50%
completion of their program part."
Thursday, July 10, 2003
U.S. House Approves Bills on Teacher-Training Accountability
and Loan Forgiveness
By JULIANNE BASINGER
The U.S. House of Representatives passed two bills on
Wednesday that would create stricter accountability
requirements for teacher-education programs and increase
student-loan forgiveness for some schoolteachers. The measures
had strong bipartisan support, although some Democrats
complained that they had been shut out of the debate.
The measures are the first in this year's renewal of the
Higher Education Act to go before Congress. One bill, HR 2211,
would close loopholes in earlier rules, mandated in the 1998
reauthorization of the act, that allowed colleges to avoid
reporting how many of their students failed teacher-licensure
tests.
"The current requirements have often been manipulated, leaving
data skewed and irrelevant," said Rep. John A. Boehner, an
Ohio Republican who is chairman of the House Committee on
Education and the Workforce, during the debate before the
vote. "HR 2211 ensures that progress can accurately be
measured."
The measure, sponsored by Rep. Phil Gingrey, a Georgia
Republican, also would authorize grants to foster "innovative
programs" such as alternative-certification routes, charter
colleges of education, and model teacher-training centers at
colleges that mainly serve minority students. The bill was
approved, 404 to 17, on a roll-call vote.
The bill, named "The Ready to Teach Act," calls for colleges
to report the pass rates on certification or licensing tests
for all students who take such exams within three years of
graduation or after completing at least 50 percent of the
course work required for a teacher-preparation program.
Higher-education institutions with fewer than 10 students who
have completed 50 percent of the course work in their
teacher-preparation programs would report an average pass rate
over a three-year period.
Colleges that fail to report the information promptly and
accurately could be fined as much as $25,000. As in the
current law, the new bill calls for states to report on the
performance of their teacher-education programs to the U.S.
secretary of education, who uses the data to prepare a "report
card" to present to Congress. In the new bill, students in
teacher-preparation programs that have lost state approval and
financial support because of "low performance" also would be
unable to receive federal student aid, and those institutions
would be ineligible for federal grants that provide
professional-development training to schoolteachers.
The second bill, HR 438, would increase the total amount of
student-loan forgiveness for mathematics, reading, science,
and special-education teachers who agreed to work for five
consecutive years in schools where at least 30 percent of the
children come from low-income families. The loan-forgiveness
amount would increase to $17,500 from the $5,000 now provided.
The measure, titled "The Teacher Recruitment and Retention
Act," passed on a roll-call vote of 417 to 7.
Both bills moved quickly to a vote because the House Rules
Committee, dominated by the Republican majority, decided late
Tuesday night to allow only amendments that had gained
approval in previous committee meetings to go to the House
floor for debate, with the exception of one amendment
sponsored by Rep. George Miller, a California Democrat. That
amendment, which was approved by the House on Wednesday, would
allow teachers with special certification in reading
instruction to be eligible for the loan forgiveness.
But the Rules Committee's blockage of other amendments
outraged Democrats, who had hoped to propose extending
student-loan forgiveness to all teachers in schools that have
more students who are poor, and to teachers in the federal
Head Start program for poor and minority preschool children.
"The Republican leadership is stifling the debate in this
House," said Rep. James P. McGovern, a Massachusetts Democrat.
"We are sick and tired of being shut out of the process. It's
a disservice to our constituents."
The Democrats supported the measures that passed, but said the
legislation did not do enough to help teachers in high-poverty
schools. Some Democrats also pointed out that even though the
bills passed, the budget appropriations proposed by the
Republican majority would not come close to actually financing
the measures. The bills passed on Wednesday authorize spending
about $300-million, but the appropriations bill, scheduled for
debate today, allots them only $90-million, said Rep. Chris
Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat.
"There's a credibility gap" between the rhetoric supporting
education and the actual money for the efforts, he said. "We
as a Congress are not delivering."
5) An announcement from Constance Belton
Green, Director, Equity and Diversity,
8th Annual Conference on Multicultural
Education
Eighth Annual Connecticut NAME Conference on Multicultural Education
Lies My Teacher Told Me
Stories from Multicultural America
October 16, 2003
Hartford Marriott * Farmington, Connecticut
6) Not an endorsement
of this program, just shared for informational purposes -
Teach where it matter the most.
EXCELSIOR TEACHER INITIATIVE
Bringing outstanding certified teachers to New York City Public
Schools.
http://www.excelsiorteacherinitiative.org
7) Items to discuss for our Fall 2003
Education Department meetings -
Ongoing preparations for NCATE visit,
scheduled for September 20- 22, 2003
Pre-requisite courses - sophomore standing,
GPA requirement??
Transfer credit for graduate programs
GPA waiver policy
Curriculum initiatives for 2003-2004
Education Department's comments on GER
Grade appeal process
Unit-counseling services support
Departmental goal revisions
Syllabi revisions
Time Certains:
Anne Patti, Counseling Service, September
4, 1:15 - 1:45
Faculty photo at
http://www.easternct.edu/depts/edu/faculty.html
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The 2002-2006 CSU
AAUP-BOT Collective Bargaining
Agreement is on-line at the usual URL:
http://www.easternct.edu/aaup/cba.html
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Graduate News
Sudha Swaminathan
and Theresa Picard report:
Sherena
Campbell writes - This month I was offered a 1st grade teacher position at
Second Hill Lane in Stratford, CT. I start new teachers orientation the last
week in August.
Relayed
by Sudha Swaminathan:
"From Angela Puccia:
Hi Sudha,
I just wanted to let you know that I had just accepted a first grade teaching
position at the Coventry Grammar School. I am going to sign the contract
this morning. There were a total of 171 applicants for the one position!
I also wanted to tell you about the wonderful things that Mr. Grasso had
to say about ECSU. He said that he really enjoyed the student teachers from
Eastern and feels that we are all taught very well. So, thank you so much
for all of your help. "
Jenn Pohlman graduated from Eastern in the spring of 2002 from the last
middle level group. She is currently working at Ellington Middle School
in Ellington CT as an 8th grade LA teacher.
She writes, "I just wanted to let you know that there is a part time position
opening for LA at our school. We also have another Eastern grad currently
working here: Alison Padegemis.
I am definitely partial, but I think this would be a great position for
someone who wants to get a little more experience before getting their own
classroom. Also you would be working with a great LA teacher, who will be
in the building in a part time administration job.
If you can let recent grads or anyone else you feel may be interested know
about this position, I would appreciate that. They should contact the middle
school at 896-2339 or the central office at 896-2300.
Thank you
Jenn Pohlman"
Sudha Swaminathan
reports that Jason Ladegard (Mr. Ladegard) is now a Second Grade Teacher
at Lebanon Elementary School. Classroom sizes are excellent, 15-17 children
per room.
Mike Gadoury
reports that he is substitute teaching and working as a UA in the Curriculum
Center in the Library at night.
Mitch Sakofs reports that Sarah Ververis will be teaching second grade
at Ashford School starting the end of August.
Hari Koirala reports that Sarah Jones and Laura Quarticelli
have been "hired to teach 5th grades at Windham Middle School. It is
interesting to know that they will be teaming as well."
Leah Barbuto and Mitch Sakofs shared this news from Dana
Ballou -
"Hi everyone! Just wanted to let you all know that I got a
job! I'll be working at Eli Terry Elementary in South Windsor and will
be teaching preschool special ed. I had my final interview today and
they offered me the job! I am very very excited and can't wait to start!"
Dan Rothermel reports that Christina Cody, from our penultimate class of middle school teacher candidates, will be teaching 8th grade Reading / Language Arts at Saint Marys Middle School in Saint Marys, Camden County school system, Georgia.
Dan and Mitch Sakofs also report that Heather Scorca, who just completed her student teaching in core III secondary, has a position at Bolton Middle School.
Mitch Sakofs and Dan
Rothermel report that Christine Kendall (secondary English) will be
teaching 8th grade language arts at Carmen Arace Middle School in Bloomfield,
CT.
Mitch Sakofs reports that Caragh O'Brien was offered a position
in Sec English in Tolland.
Mitch Sakofs reports that Kathy Rosen has been asked to teach
summer school at Mohegan Elementary School.
Dan Rothermel, Jeanelle Bland, and Mitch Sakofs report that
Vicenza
Benoit that she has
just been hired in South Carolina as a 4th gr classroom teacher in
the Varennes Elementary School, Anderson District 5 Schools, Anderson,
South Carolina, Dr. Mary Paul, Principal.
Dan Rothermel
reports that "one of our core III secondary student, Maggie Tarbox, has just accepted a position to teach 7th
grade language arts at
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Call
for Graduating Senior Information
A request from
Institutional Research -
Please share news
about the plans of graduating seniors.
If they are going
on to graduate school, please provide the graduate's name, undergraduate
major,
graduate university, location (city, state), field of study
and degree program sought, and any information
on scholarships and/or fellowships.
If they have been
accepted for employment positions, please provide the graduate's name,
undergraduate major, company, location (city, state), position,
salary.
Please email the
information to David, who will compile it for the department. Thanks.
*****
Other Events
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ECSU - ThinkQuest for Tomorrow's Teachers Projects
Faculty members and students from
Eastern Connecticut State University participated in a US Department
of Education grant to Prepare Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology with
ThinkQuest
[ http://www.preservice.org/] and 13 other
universities throughout the US. This project's homepage may be found
at http://www.preservice.org/ecsu/ .
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Long Term Announcements
Alumni news may
be found at http://www.easternct.edu/depts/edu/news/alumninews.html.
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Past surveys of
our graduates are available on the WWW -
an analysis of
the survey of teacher education program graduates 1996-98
http://www.easternct.edu/depts/edu/assessment/survey9698.htm
results of the
survey of teacher education program graduates - 1996-1998 -
http://www.easternct.edu/depts/edu/assessment/surveyresults9698.htm,
and
results of the
survey of teacher education program graduates - 1998-2000 -
http://www.easternct.edu/depts/edu/assessment/gradsurvey2001.htm
survey of interests
in graduate programs -1999,
http://www.easternct.edu/depts/edu/assessment/gradinterestsurvey1999.htm
survey of interests
in graduate programs - 2001
http://www.easternct.edu/depts/edu/assessment/gradinterestsurvey2001.htm
Planning forms
for field experiences and student teaching for Spring 2003 are now
posted at
http://www.easternct.edu/depts/edu/dept/stinfo.doc
and
http://www.easternct.edu/depts/edu/dept/stpreferencefall2003.doc
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Research and Creativity Activities
chronicling the
ongoing progress of the Education Department at
also found at http://www.easternct.edu/depts/edu/news/rca.html
Searches
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searches pending
approval -
we had requested temporary full-time one-year appointments in Learning
and Teaching and in Reading/Language Arts
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Recently acquired media - in the Chair's Office or on the Web
Our Reading/Language
Arts room, Webb Hall 113, has been enriched with past issues of Phi
Delta Kappan, Academe, Syllabus, Converge, Governmental Technology,
Journal of Teacher Education, and other resources. Please feel free
to use and encourage your students to use these materials.
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Please contact David Stoloff at
(860) 465-5501, email: stoloffd@easternct.edu if you have any questions
or comments on this newsletter. Please invite others to receive this
newsletter and be added
to the Education Department e-mailing list by contacting David
Stoloff.