Currently browsing Teachers
Critical report on teacher preparation programs sparks debate
California’s teacher training programs were excoriated as among the worst in a nation of poor-quality programs in a report released Tuesday, immediately sparking a debate about the validity of the report’s methodology and findings. Nearly every teacher preparation program in California, at both public and private colleges and universities, received poor ratings in the report, which was issued by the National Council on Teacher Quality, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit. The report was published as a new … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured, Reporting & Analysis, Teachers
Vast reforms proposed for teacher credential programs
When California placed a one-year limit on the length of teacher preparation programs back in 1970, there were no personal computers, tablets or smart phones; no online classes or Common Core standards; and not nearly as many English learners in public schools. Recognizing that these graduate programs can’t squeeze in an additional 40 years of knowledge and change into a one-year program, a state panel is recommending that the cap be lifted, among a range of other … Read entire article »
Filed under: Commission on Teacher Credentialing, Featured, Preparation, Reporting & Analysis, Teachers
Joe Nuñez named executive director of California Teachers Association
Joe Nuñez, governmental relations director for the California Teachers Association, has been appointed executive director of the union, officials announced this week. Nuñez will replace Carolyn Doggett at the helm of the association that represents 325,000 teachers in the state. Doggett retires in August after 30 years at the CTA, including the last 18 as executive director, the union said in a news release. The executive director oversees daily operations at the association, which is based in Burlingame and has 435 staff members. Nuñez became involved in the CTA as a teacher in Santa Maria, where he served as president of faculty union there before becoming a CTA staff member in 1995. He was appointed CTA’s associate executive director for governmental relations in 2004 and over the years has worked on several … Read entire article »
Filed under: Quick Hits, Teachers
Q&A: Lessons for California from New Jersey’s ‘Improbable Scholars’
Students in Union City, N.J., get twice the funding of students in California. They attend two years of full-day kindergarten. Recent immigrants to this country are taught initially in their native language. For all their differences, though, there are also some core similarities with California districts like Sanger, Garden Grove and Long Beach, which author David Kirp identifies in his latest book, among the beat-the-odds districts. Chief among them: a focus on the long view, with … Read entire article »
Filed under: Achievement Gap, English learners, Equity issues, Featured, High School Completion, Kindergarten and Preschool, Poverty, Reporting & Analysis, Systemic Change, Teacher Collaboration
California Head Start teachers lag behind national average in earning bachelor’s degrees
Sixty-two percent of Head Start teachers nationwide now hold a bachelor’s degree, surpassing a federal guideline calling for at least half of the teachers to hold the advanced degree by this fall, according to a brief by the New America Foundation released earlier this month. In California, only 48 percent of Head Start teachers have met that bar, according to the California Head Start Association. The 2007 Head Start Act says at least half of the country’s Head Start teachers must hold a bachelor’s degree by Sept. 30, 2013. There is no penalty for individual states or providers that have not met the federal requirement. Still, a significantly larger percentage of teachers in California have earned bachelor’s degrees since the new requirement was first issued, as EdSource has reported. Only 27 percent of Head … Read entire article »
Filed under: Early Childhood, Head Start, Preparation, Quick Hits, Teachers
Nine districts resubmit ‘stronger’ application for NCLB waiver
(This article has been updated.) Nine California districts resubmitted their application Tuesday for a waiver from key provisions and sanctions of the No Child Left Behind law after spending weeks revising the application in response to dozens of questions by a panel of reviewers from the U.S. Department of Education. If approved, the application by members of the umbrella organization California Office to Reform Education, or CORE, would be a first. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has … Read entire article »
Filed under: Common Core standards, Evaluation, Evaluations, Featured, No Child Left Behind, Reporting & Analysis, Standardized tests, Teacher Collaboration, Title I
San Jose teachers, board adopt landmark teacher evaluation system
Breaking new ground in California, San Jose Unified has adopted an innovative teacher evaluation process that gives teachers a role in reviewing their peers and greatly revises the current – and some say outmoded – method of measuring teacher success. The new system would deny automatic raises to unsatisfactory performers and give evaluators the option of adding another year to the probationary period for new teachers – a provision at odds with the state teachers union. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Evaluations, Featured, Reporting & Analysis, Teacher Collaboration, Teacher Pay, Teacher Unions, Tenure, U.S. Education Policy
Evolving from professional development to professional learning
Every student deserves an effective teacher, one who is always seeking the very best ways to reach each student. While there has always been an onus on teachers to commit to improving, state and district leaders must also improve professional learning opportunities for teachers. Fortunately, as a state, we are beginning to take strides in this direction. In September, a task force convened by Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson’s office released “Greatness by Design.” … Read entire article »
Filed under: Commentary, Evaluation, Featured, Preparation, Teachers
Woman who never intended to teach now praised as California Teacher of the Year
California’s Teacher of the Year never considered a career in teaching, not as a child, not in high school and not in college – not even when she was accepted into Teach For America after graduating from Occidental College in 1999. “To be perfectly candid, I was similar to other TFA teachers. I thought I would teach for two years and then leave teaching and go to grad school in who knows what,” laughed I’Asha Warfield … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured, K-12 Programs, Reporting & Analysis, Teachers
Video Highlights from
2013 EdSource Symposium
Transforming Public Education: What's Next For
Students, Teachers and Schools
- In Partnership with the California State PTA -
May 4th symposium in San Jose featured a number of prominent speakers on key challenges in education today, including Linda Darling-Hammond, Martha Kanter, and Pedro Noguera.
You can find video of those speakers and more at our new YouTube channel by clicking below.
National Council on Teacher Quality report is deeply flawed
June 18th, 2013 | Add a Comment | By Linda Darling-Hammond / commentary
This week, the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) issued a report, NCTQ Teacher Prep Review. Billed as a consumer’s guide, the report rates teacher preparation programs on a list of criteria ranging from selection and content preparation to coursework and student teaching aimed at the development of teaching skills. While the report appropriately focuses on these aspects of teacher education, it does not, unfortunately, accurately reflect the work of teacher education programs in California … Read entire article »
Filed under: Commentary, Featured, Preparation, Teachers