LSUS receives teacher education re-accreditation
11/18/04

Studies have repeatedly shown that teacher quality is the most important factor in PreK–12 student achievement. Professional accreditation is one way to ensure that schools of education are graduating well-qualified teachers who are ready for today’s classrooms.

The LSUS College of Education and Human Development has proven its commitment to producing quality teachers by achieving accreditation this month under the performance-oriented standards of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), the organization responsible for professional accreditation of teacher education. LSUS is one of 588 institutions nationwide to receive NCATE accreditation. Those 588 produce two-thirds of the nation’s new teacher graduates each year.

“Overall, the students we send out to schools as teachers,” LSUS Chancellor Vince Marsala said, “are among the best in the state. This has been shown time and again in studies and reports issued by the state and independent educational organizations.”

Marsala added that more than half of the professional staffs in the public school systems of Bossier and Caddo parishes are LSUS graduates.

The LSUS teacher education program has a demonstrated history of excellence and has been accredited by NCATE since 1978. In addition, several of the component teacher education programs at LSUS have received recognition by their specialized program associations and the others either have applied or are in the process of applying for similar recognitions.

“Our close association with the Midway Elementary Professional Development School is indicative of the advantages LSUS can provide its teacher education students,” said Dr. Dave Gustavson, dean of the College of Education and Human Development. “While many teacher education programs partner with an existing school with an established track record, LSUS worked with the Caddo Parish School System to build the Midway PDS from the ground up.”

Gustavson said LSUS played a major role in selecting the entire staff for what was essentially a new school. The building on Greenwood Road in Shreveport was home to a middle school when the university and the school system started putting the PDS framework together.

“The relationship between LSUS and the school system is such a close partnership,” Gustavson said, “that we have made and continue to be asked to make presentation about the Midway PDS project at high-profile national teacher education meetings and conferences.”

He said an LSUS “Professor in Residence” is just one of many features at the Midway PDS that “produce outstanding benefits for our teacher education students, the faculty and staff at Midway and, most importantly, for the Midway students.”

Gustavson is the coordinator of the PK-16+ Council that brings together representatives of all the stakeholders in education from pre-school through graduate school in the Louisiana Department of Education’s Region VII. The region, whose Educational Service Center is located on the LSUS campus, comprises Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Claiborne, DeSoto, Red River and Webster parishes. The Council was formed by the LSUS chancellor and charged with identifying ways to improve the quantity and quality of teachers and the achievement of PreK-12 students.

NCATE-accredited schools meet rigorous standards set by the profession and members of the public. Teacher candidates must have in-depth knowledge of the subject matter they plan to teach as well as the skills necessary to convey it so students learn. Institutions such as LSUS must carefully assess this knowledge and skill to determine that candidates may graduate. The institution must have partnerships with PreK-12 schools that enable candidates to develop the skills necessary to help students learn. Candidates must be prepared to understand and work with diverse student populations. College and university faculty must model effective teaching practices. And the school, college or department of education must have the resources, including information technology resources, necessary to prepare candidates to meet new standards.

NCATE periodically revises its standards to meet changing needs in teacher preparation. In the past decade, NCATE has moved from an accreditation system that focused on curriculum and what teacher candidates were offered, to a data-driven performance-based system dedicated to determining what candidates know and are able to do. The new system expects teacher preparation institutions to provide compelling evidence of candidate knowledge and skill in the classroom. Multiple types of performance assessment are expected throughout the program of study. Candidate qualifications are assessed upon entry, and candidate competence is assessed throughout the program as well as prior to student teaching/internship work, and before completion of the program.

Meeting NCATE accreditation standards also helps institutions prepare new teachers for new, more rigorous licensing standards in many states. NCATE accreditation standards incorporate the model state licensing principles developed by a task force of the Council of Chief State School Officers.

The U. S. Department of Education recognizes NCATE as a specialized accrediting body for schools, colleges and departments of education. NCATE is composed of more than 30 professional and policymaker organizations representing millions of Americans committed to quality teaching. It was founded in 1954 by the teaching profession and the states. NCATE continues its mission today: the profession and the states working together for excellence in teacher preparation and development.

For more information about the LSUS teacher education program, visit the www.lsus.edu/ehd/ed/.