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EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT NEWS
Midterm, Fall 2004 - October 11, 2004 for past issues Ed. Dept. News Index - http://www.easternct.edu/depts/edu/newsindex.html |
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Words of Inspiration
the
collection appears at http://www.easternct.edu/depts/edu/news/words.html
Eastern Celebrates NCATE Accreditation
Eastern Connecticut State University has received full accreditation of its teacher preparation programs by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).
"We hold Eastern in very high esteem," said Frances Rabinowitz, associate commissioner for the Connecticut State Department of Education, speaking at a reception held in honor of Eastern's education unit on Sept. 21. "Dean Patricia Kleine and her faculty are doing a wonderful job of educating future teachers."
Noting that more than 50 percent of current teachers will be reaching retirement age in the next 5-10 years, while 18 percent of current teaching positions in the state are being filled by non-certified teachers, Rabinowitz urged Eastern to expand its pre-service programs to graduate even more teachers.
The reception took place a year after a three-day, on-site visit September 21-23, 2003, by a team of seven NCATE Board of Examiners, who visited Eastern's Willimantic campus to review and assess the University's education unit and its teacher preparation programs.
"We are gratified by this important achievement," said Eastern President David Carter. "Since its beginnings as a normal school in 1889, this institution has been committed to preparing Connecticut teachers. Receiving NCATE accreditation tells our faculty they are doing a fine job; it assures prospective students that they are in good hands if they choose Eastern; and it should reassure the people of Connecticut that we take teacher preparation seriously."
The NCATE accreditation system is a voluntary peer review process, with an on-site review team using a set of research-based, performance standards in the areas of curriculum design, assessment of candidate performance, faculty qualifications, supervision of clinical experiences and faculty resources.
The NCATE process started in February 2001 and eventually included more than 4,000 pages of support documentation. Eastern completed the state review process on May 5-8, 2002, and then prepared for the NCATE on-site visit and the specialization reviews.
"Our successful accreditation review is a tribute to Professors David Stoloff and Robert Horrocks, chairs of the departments of education and health and physical education, respectively, and the faculty who work with them to prepare the teachers of tomorrow," said Patricia A. Kleine, dean of Eastern's School of Education and Professional Studies. Kleine also thanked Associate Professor Hari Koirala for helping frame the conceptual model for the NCATE review process; Assistant Professor Jeanelle Bland Day, for assisting in preparing the document room; and the chair of the Connecticut State Department of Education Review Team, Anne Marie Mistretta, now interim superintendent of Manchester Public Schools.
NCATE is a coalition of 33 professional associations representing more than 3 million faculty in the field of education and teacher preparation, and is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. Two-thirds of the nation's new teacher graduates come from NCATE-accredited schools. Due to public demand for accountability, the number of universities and colleges seeking NCATE accreditation has almost tripled in the past five years, with 575 institutions accredited and more than 100 others at the candidate stage.
"We agree with NCATE that children are our most precious resource," said Kleine. "Children deserve the best teachers we can graduate, and Eastern is committed to continual improvement of its teacher preparation programs."
National data indicate that teacher candidates who graduate from NCATE-accredited schools do better on national licensing and certification exams by a factor of 10 percent. In addition, graduates of NCATE-accredited schools generally find it easier to apply for their teaching licenses when moving to other states.
NCATE is celebrating its 50th anniversary, and, as part of that celebration, has published its original list of 283 accredited teacher education programs on the NCATE website. Willimantic State Teachers College - one of Eastern's former identities - was on that original list. For information on Eastern's teacher preparation programs, visit www.easternct.edu/depts/edu/edu.html.
press release developed by
1) Important dates in October 2004
Child and Family Development Resource Center groundbreaking ceremony at 1 pm, Oct. 14
Relay for Life - October 16 - 17 - contributions being accepted by Ann Gruenberg, Delar Singh, David Stoloff
NAME conference - Monday, October 18, leaving at 6:45 am, returning either by 3:30 or by 5:30 pm - two additional student places are available, please invite interested students
Open House for Prospective Students - Sunday, 10/24 - planning to participate - Delar Singh, Cathy Tannahill, Leslie Ricklin, Rob Levin, and David Stoloff
CECA -
(Connecticut Educators Computer Association
http://www.ceca-ct.org/
)
conference - Monday, October 25,
CCELT conference - Friday, October 29, Manchester CC - car reserved, registration supported by the Center for Educational Excellence, planning to participate - Mary-Grace Shifrin, Cathy Tannahill, Ingrid Enniss, David Stoloff
2) Other Fall 2004 dates:
Comprehensive portfolios due week of October 11-15,
Oct. 18 –
mid-semester grades due;
draft of thesis to graduate office
– 10/18;
Care interviews will
be held the weeks of October 25 and November 1
withdrawing from class deadline - November 5.
The
Education Department Faculty photo is posted 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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Alumni News
http://www.easternct.edu/depts/edu/news/alumninews.html
Dr.
Sudha Swaminathan reports that Leslie Labenski has been hired at
Andover Elementary in
a Kindergarten setting.
Joan
Culpin was just hired as a third grade teacher in Columbia, CT.
posted
on August 20, 2004.
Good
news from Robyn McKenney, MS in Ed Tech program
graduate –
I just
wanted to share my great news with
you! I have been offered a job as a K-8
Technology Integration Coach. I am very
excited about this opportunity and feel that my work at Eastern was
invaluable
in preparing me for this role (especially the thesis).
Some feedback I received was how pleased
they were with my understanding of constructivism, project (problem-)
based
learning, ISTE standards, assessments, and learning environments. I wanted to share that with you because I
feel it speaks directly to your program.
*****
Another
message shared by Dr. Fred
Ashton –
Once
again, I am
pleased to share more good news for the
A
message shared by Dr. Fred Ashton -
A
message shared by Dr. Ann Gruenberg from Cara Ravetto -
I
took a
long term sub position at the Borough Elementary School for a teacher
on maternity leave with the expectation of continuing in the fall for
her. As the last few days of school arrived one of the teachers in
decided not to renew her contract and resigned, thereby creating an
open position. After all was said and done, the position ended up being
for first grade. I interviewed for it and was offered the job! I am
very excited because I wasn't expecting anything in the district to be
open! I was fully prepared to sub for the next year. Now reality sets
in as I prepare to set up my classroom and plan the curriculum! My
fellow collegues seem very nice and the principal is very supportive.
Hope all is well at ECSU and I plan to return in the spring to complete
my Capstone. Take care!
Cara
Ravetto
News
from Dr. Fred Ashton:
Scott Hill just emailed me. He has accepted a 4th grade position at Sweeney School. Scott was in last semester's student teachers' seminar with me. He is a fine student and will be a great first year teacher.
News
from Dr. Bland Day:
I heard from Rosemary Humes that Cary Langley and Chad Johnson have taken science teaching positions at the Norwich Free Academy. Cary is teaching biology, and I believe that Chad's job is in General Science.
*****
Call
for Graduate News -
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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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/
or http://www.easternct.edu/depts/edu/dept/pt3.html.
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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
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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
departmental searches pending
approval -
full-time tenure track faculty members to start in Fall 2005
in Learning and Teaching and
Reading/Language Arts
Recently acquired media - in the Chair's Office or on the Web
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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.
