[ONLINE] - Transforming Teacher Preparation To Best Serve Students

Event

Gone are the days when we could expect future teachers to enroll in a college of education directly after high school, earn their license, and teach for the rest of their professional lives. Now, many that go this route don’t stay in the profession, and countless others who didn’t initially consider teaching as a career later decide that it’s their calling. In response, new “fast track” routes into the profession have emerged that, given their lower costs and time investments, have been particularly appealing to non-traditional teaching candidates, including many people of color.

Greater racial and linguistic diversity among teachers has been found to benefit all students, especially students of color, but teachers entering through fast track routes often struggle to gain their footing in their first years on the job and quit teaching shortly after. While this combination of insufficiently-prepared teachers and constant turnover is a headache for school and district administrators, the repercussions for students are life long.

But what if there was a sustainable way to recruit and retain a more diverse set of teachers, especially ones from the local community, while simultaneously ensuring that their training adequately prepared them to be successful in leading student learning and led them to remain in the profession? We invite you to join us for an event where we examine why transforming teacher preparation must be a national priority now and explore how to make high-quality teacher preparation a sustainable reality through practices and policies at all levels.

Join the conversation online by using #TransformTeacherPrep and following @NewAmericaEd and @PreparedToTeach.

Agenda

Welcome

  • Elena Silva, Director, PreK-12, Education Policy Program, New America

Presentation of the Research Case for Transforming Teacher Preparation

  • Karen DeMoss, Executive Director, Bank Street College’s Prepared To Teach initiative

Panel 1: Insights from Innovative, Impactful Teacher Preparation Programs

  • Tania Hogan, Director of Undergraduate Student Success, School of Education and Human Development, University of Colorado Denver
  • Charelle James, Executive Director, Urban Teachers-Baltimore
  • Bernard Koontz, Executive Director of Teaching, Learning and Leadership, Highline Public Schools
  • Amber Thompson, Clinical Associate Professor & Associate Chair, Teacher Education Program, University of Houston
  • Amaya Garcia, Deputy Director, PreK-12, Education Policy Program, New America (moderator)

Panel 2: Policies To Support Scaling of Innovative, Impactful Teacher Preparation Approaches

  • Eric Duncan, P-12 Data and Policy Senior Analyst, Education Trust
  • Alexandra Manuel, Executive Director, Professional Educator Standards Board, Washington State
  • Ryan Saunders, Policy Advisor, Learning Policy Institute
  • Marla Ucelli Kashyap, Senior Director, Educational Issues, American Federation of Teachers
  • Melissa Tooley, Project Director, Educator Quality, Education Policy Program, New America (moderator)

Opportunities to Transform Teacher Preparation

  • Roberto J. Rodriguez, President and Chief Executive Officer of Teach Plus

Closing Remarks


This is a partnered event with the Bank Street College of Education's Prepared To Teach Initiative.

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