Last Week of Classes, Fall 2004 - December 6, 2004, Education Dept e-newsletter, Eastern CSU

The annual observance of the International Day of Disabled Persons, 3 December, aims to promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilize support for the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities. It also seeks to increase awareness of gains to be derived from the integration of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life. The theme of the Day is based on the goal of full and equal enjoyment of human rights and participation in society by persons with disabilities, established by the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons, adopted by the General Assembly in 1982.

1) Outstanding Master's University and College Professor: Rhona Campbell Free, professor of economics, Eastern Connecticut State University, Willimantic, Connecticut. Free is known for drawing on ideas from multiple fields, including oral history from historians and virtual field trips from geologists, to teach the principles of economics, and for creating topical courses, such as "Economics of Professional Sports." Formerly the director of her university's Center for Educational Excellence, Free promotes innovation and cross-disciplinary approaches among her colleagues.

BEST portfolios, lunch, unit meetings - December 16, 2005, 11 - 2, Webb 115.

Future Teachers Conference - Tuesday, March 22, 2005 - please contact David Stoloff if you would like to present.

Fifth Annual Excellence Expo - Wednesday, April 27, 2005, 3 - 7 pm - Ed Dept faculty - please nominate those who completed comprehensive portfolios and other teacher candidates with distinction.

Education Departmental Goals for 2005

Reviewed at the Education Department Faculty Meeting on November 3, 2004 and December 2, 2004 – revisions in bold here

For approval at our January 27, 2005 meeting

The faculty and staff members in the Education Department will continue to:

Curriculum Development and Assessment Goals

1. Revise and implement all of the Education Department programs in alignment with National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and state, national, professional organizations standards and changes in certification regulations.

2. Improve departmental systems for gathering and reporting student data, and advise the Office of the Registrar and the Office of Institutional Research on departmental data needs as the CSU-BANNER system continues to develop.

3. Develop for all programs portfolio assessment systems which are aligned with specialty professional associations, NCATE, and the Connecticut Common Core of Teaching.

4. Integrate technology applications within the coursework and clinical experiences of the Teacher Education and Graduate Studies programs.

Program Development Goals

5. Recruit additional faculty to fully support the academic excellence of our current programs and offerings as needed. During Spring 2005, searches for two Reading/Language Arts faculty members and one Learning and Teaching faculty members will be successfully completed.

6. Seek to establish and fill a faculty research position to manage database information to comply with NCATE, specialty professional associations, state, and federal statistical requirements and to instruct research seminars.

7. Enhance the coordination of clinical experiences by full-time faculty members by adding credits to CORE coursework.

8. Recruit students and faculty who better represent the diversity of the state’s population.

9. Prepare educators who are willing and ready to advocate for and address the special needs of learners.

10. Refine policies and processes for admission and retention of students in the teacher education programs and better coordinate graduate and certification admission processes.

11. Explore the development of graduate certification cohorts, MS or 30-credit programs in Special Education, and graduate coursework around curricular emphases.

Professional Community Collaboration

12. Coordinate with liberal arts faculty to better enhance curriculum needs for teacher candidates.

13. Explore, enhance, develop, and follow up on Professional Development School (PDS) formal agreements with 2 to 4 regional school districts, reflecting NCATE standards.

14. Enhance the quality of clinical experiences by implementing a supervisory model that reflects the department's goals and conceptual framework.

"Hi! I just wanted to tell you that I got a job!! Starting Monday I will be a preschool teacher in Waterbury. It's not in a school though, it's in a daycare facility, but I will have my own classroom of 3-5 year olds (although I think right now there are only 3 and 4 year olds). I am really excited to start, I really have a lot of freedom to teach what I want and how I want, it's a really exciting first teaching job, a really great experience, especially since I have to do most of the planning of what exactly I'm teaching, there is no curriculum to follow or anything. So I'm really excited to use a lot of the information I got from the core classes @ Eastern. I'm sure I'll be emailing you (300 times a day!) to ask you questions and get advice, I hope you don't mind! Just wanted to tell you because I thought you'd be proud :)"

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.

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.

Once again, I am pleased to share more good news for the Vocational Technical School System and for ECSU: Mary Schlehofer will be appointed to a teaching position in the English Department at H.H. Ellis Technical High School in Danielson, CT. Mary did her student teaching here at Windham Tech this past spring semester with department head Jan Marie Weston and she did an outstanding job.

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 colleagues 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.

Research and Creativity Activities
chronicling the ongoing progress of the Education Department at Eastern Connecticut State University

departmental searches pending approval -
full-time tenure track faculty members to start in Fall 2005
in Learning and Teaching and
Reading/Language Arts

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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.

International Day of Disabled Persons 3 December "Nothing about Us Without Us"

International Day of Disabled Persons
3 December

"Nothing about Us Without Us"