2008 Woodie Awards
Education classes see big changes
Megan Munroe
Issue date: 9/28/07 Section: News
Originally published: 9/27/07 at 6:26 PM EST
Last update: 9/27/07 at 6:25 PM EST
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Though they don't know it, freshmen education majors have the privilege of experiencing a newly renovated and rejuvenated teacher education program as the department attempts for the second time to achieve national accreditation.
While upperclassmen majoring in education will finish their four years as originally planned, this freshmen class will begin in a restructured, reorganized program and continue, should they choose to, in what could possibly be a more successful teacher education program, which has until 2010 to become nationally accredited.
The 2010 deadline, an extension granted by the state education department after the program failed to meet the original deadline of December 2006, is imposed by New York State, Dean of Education, Health and Human Services David Hill said. While Plattsburgh State's teacher education program is still recognized and accredited by NY, he said, it is now a requirement of every teacher education program in NY to have national accreditation as well.
In 2005, the program applied for accreditation from the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education and was rejected. It is now applying for accreditation from the Teacher Education Accreditation Council - both are based in Washington, DC. Hill said the department thinks the TEAC "fits us better" and that they didn't like the first group they tried, but at the time it was their only choice.
The accreditation process consists of the program implementing changes, documenting and reporting those changes to the accrediting body, which then visits the school and meets with 40 graduates of the teacher education program to verify that the changes listed in the report have been implemented.
Possibly the most dramatic change, Hill said, is having freshmen take education courses from the very beginning, whereas in the old program, general education classes took up the majority of the first two years, and students didn't begin taking classes in their major until their junior year.
While upperclassmen majoring in education will finish their four years as originally planned, this freshmen class will begin in a restructured, reorganized program and continue, should they choose to, in what could possibly be a more successful teacher education program, which has until 2010 to become nationally accredited.
The 2010 deadline, an extension granted by the state education department after the program failed to meet the original deadline of December 2006, is imposed by New York State, Dean of Education, Health and Human Services David Hill said. While Plattsburgh State's teacher education program is still recognized and accredited by NY, he said, it is now a requirement of every teacher education program in NY to have national accreditation as well.
In 2005, the program applied for accreditation from the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education and was rejected. It is now applying for accreditation from the Teacher Education Accreditation Council - both are based in Washington, DC. Hill said the department thinks the TEAC "fits us better" and that they didn't like the first group they tried, but at the time it was their only choice.
The accreditation process consists of the program implementing changes, documenting and reporting those changes to the accrediting body, which then visits the school and meets with 40 graduates of the teacher education program to verify that the changes listed in the report have been implemented.
Possibly the most dramatic change, Hill said, is having freshmen take education courses from the very beginning, whereas in the old program, general education classes took up the majority of the first two years, and students didn't begin taking classes in their major until their junior year.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Brittany
posted 9/28/07 @ 1:18 PM EST
I left the main campus and continued my education major at the extension program at Adirondack Community College because the collaboration and emphasis or i should say "lack of an emphasis" on the students. (Continued…)
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