teacher_quality

SPRING 2001

Thoughtful, knowledgeable, and effective educators for a diverse society

Woodring Participates in Teacher Quality Project

Improving the performance and increasing the cultural and ethnic diversity of new teachers is the focus of Woodring's participation in the Teacher Quality Enhancement project. The project, initiated and directed by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), is funded by U.S. Department of Education Title II funds. The three-year project is committed to increasing state-wide access to teacher preparation programs, improving articulation among the state's various teacher preparation programs, building the retention rate of students enrolled in teacher education programs, and increasing the career length of the teachers who graduate from them.

Woodring is a member of the Seattle Consortium, co-directed by Woodring faculty member Robert Pinney and Seattle Central Community College's Jim Hopkins. Other key members of the consortium are the Seattle School District (Nancy Bush, Roxanne Trees and Patsy Yamada), Seattle Urban League (Shannon Smith), Seattle Education Association (John Dunn), Seattle Uniserve Council (Barb Lawson), and the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe (Denise Bill). Three other regional consortiums &endash; Yakima, Spokane and Tacoma &endash; have similar membership profiles, which are listed on the Teacher Quality Enhancement Grant web page (http://tqe-wa.ospi.wednet.edu). The web site also provides access to various reports, schedules, and detailed information about the objectives and organization of the project.

Several Woodring faculty, including Marty Chorba, Karen Hoelscher, Suzanne Krogh, Bill Lay, Laurie Phelan and Roxann Rose, have contributed to various project activities. Collectively, their efforts have been directed toward the following goals:

Aligning the academic and pedagogical curricula of teacher preparation programs with the state of Washington's K-12 Learning Goals and related EALRS.
Collaborating with institutions of higher education, community colleges, and local education associations to better articulate teacher preparation curricula and experiences from middle school through induction into the teaching profession.
Collaborating with community-based organizations to attract outstanding students into teaching and serving in high-needs schools, preparing high-needs students for increased success in college level work, and supporting competent teachers as they address the unique cultural and student achievement challenges encountered in high-needs schools.

Andy Griffin, assistant superintendent for the Higher Education Certification and Community Outreach at OSPI, directs the TQE project. For further information about Woodring's participation in this project, contact Robert Pinney at Woodring's Seattle Urban Center at 206/729-3253, or robert.pinney@wwu.edu.

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