Bank
Street to Participate in Carnegie Corporation of New York’s
Initiative, Teachers for a New Era
Bank
Street College of Education has been selected to submit a proposal
to participate in a Carnegie Corporation of New York landmark
initiative, Teachers for a New Era.
“As
on of the four universities chosen—out of a field of 1,300
educational institutions—we take our selection as a great
honor and a great challenge. It is an honor to be considered
exceptional by Carnegie Corporation and by the participants
in a rigorous selection process. It is our challenge to push
ourselves to be even better. In this way Bank Street College
of Education can help insure that all our children get the caliber
of teaching they deserve and that the health of our communities
requires,” said Jon Snyder, dean of the Graduate School,
Bank Street College of Education.
The
other institutions of higher education chosen to participate
in Carnegie Corporation’s Teachers for a New Era initiative are California State University, Northridge;
Michigan State University; and the University of Virginia.
“Teaching
reform is central to school reform, and these institutions are
pioneers in the movement. These four institutions have already
embraced the principles central to Carnegie Corporation’s
idea of what it takes to produce excellent teachers for tomorrow’s
children,” said Vartan Gregorian, president of the Carnegie
Corporation. “If we really want to improve student achievement,
we have no choice but to improve teaching.”
Teachers
for a New Era has established
three guiding principles as critical in the redesign of schools
that prepare teachers:
1.
Leadership on the part of the presidents of supported institutions
that elevates the role and importance of schools of education
within the university community and a design that builds on
research evidence.
2.
Top-level collaboration between university faculty in the arts
and sciences with the schools of education faculty to ensure
that prospective teachers are well grounded in specific disciplines
and provided a liberal arts education.
3.
Teaching as a clinical profession, with students mentored by
master teachers in a formal two-year residency as they make
a transition from college to classroom.
“Bank
Street is proud to be among those chosen to participate in this
truly critical and challenging initiative. We look forward to
working to strengthen teacher education nationwide so that excellent
teachers can be available to all children” said Augusta
Souza Kappner, president of Bank Street College of Education.
The
success of the institutions chosen to be part of the initiative,
their graduates, and the research produced during the next five
years are expected to challenge and inspire other institutions
to follow these ideas.
“At
the conclusion of this investment,” Daniel Fallon, chair
of Carnegie Corporation’s education division predicts,
“the participating universities will be seen as having
established the standards for best practice in educating professional
teachers.”
Teachers
of a New Era will ultimately
include at least eight higher education institutions by 2004
and involve a foundation investment of up to $5 million that
each institution will match over a five-year period. Additional
foundation grants will cover evaluations and up to $750,000
in grants that each university will share with its local partners,
including school districts and other teacher education programs.
In all, Carnegie Corporation has committed more than $30 million
for the initiative at a total of six institutions; in addition
to making two awards this year, in each of the next two years
the Corporation will ask two additional universities to submit
proposals. Joining the Corporation’s initiative in this
round of grants are the Ford Foundation and The Annenberg Foundation,
which each committed $5 million. The Rockefeller Foundation
will be covering the costs of a major ongoing external evaluation
of the initiative. The number of participating universities
could increase if other foundations join the initiative in future
years.
In
addition to being recognized by the Carnegie Corporation, the
National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE)
recently accredited Bank Street College of Education at the
initial teacher preparation and the advanced education levels.
NCATE is the most rigorous and prestigious national accreditation
body for teacher education institutions in the country.#
